IN DEFENCE OF NEURODIVERSITY
I understand that
autism diagnoses may be reduced under an NHS plan. This fuels my fears that 'conditions' on the spectrum may yet again be airbrushed and swept under the carpet..
SEE ALSO:
WERE PEOPLE WITH A.D.D, VICTIMS OF A HISTORICAL PLOT?
By the same token when I was on the government working party to revise the Mental Health Scotland legislation there was a political decision to delete drug and alcohol problems from mental health and label them anew as social problems, thus saving a lot of NHS money and burdening LAs with the problems.
SCATTERED MINDS: INTO THE INTERIOR OF A.D.D. (Dr Gabor Mate)
To cap that, my mental health campaigns no longer run parallel to those of the Drop the Disorder Facebook group organizers which I believe to be too narrowly focused to the point that many of the concerns affecting those of us who are neurodiverse and genuinely 'on the spectrum' could even be swept under the carpet. It is important for all of us to be encouraged by the professionals to seek appropriate holistic treatments regarding our neuro-physical symptoms. Be careful to check that your medical advisors know more than diddly.Some psychotherapists and neurologists don't. Your comments please!
IST, JUNE 2017, I SUSPECT THAT THE DTD ORGANIZERS MAY, ALBEIT UNWITTINGLY, BE CONTRIBUTING TO AN N.H.S. AGENDA AIMED AT RADICALLY REDUCING THE SERVICES PROVIDED TO PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN GENERAL AND PEOPLE ON THE SPECTRUM IN PARTICULAR--------
3rd, June 2017:
My most popular blog read. It seems to be making lots of impact around the world. Contains some critically important messages e.g. for the Tory government, the Drop the Disorder Facebook group, and anybody who is working in combination, I defy the bullies on behalf of neuro-diverse people everywhere and call them to answer to their fallacies.
EARLIER: From my group Facebook Page
MY OPINIONS ABOUT THE DROP THE DISORDER (DTD) FACEBOOK GROUP,
(WHY DON'T YOU RESPOND TO MY OPINIONS BY A COMMENT TO THIS BLOG POST, GUYS, RATHER THAN TRYING TO BULLY ME WHEN I CIRCULATE THEM ON FACEBOOK?)
I have felt much more supportive of this group since the organizers clarified to the effect that they are opposed to treatment by toxic psych meds, But I disagree that BPD is a description of effective normal behaviour, I agree that neither schizophrenia nor bipolar disorder are properly definable in any medical or scientific sense, though many of the symptoms including the symptoms of psychosis are very real, I however think that many people associated with DTD have naive attitudes towards conditions on the spectrum (I do not regard these as disorders but rather as expressions of different normalities)
For example many people genuinely suffer from symptoms which are regarded by many consultants as describable in combination as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).The totality of such symptoms include but are not limited to (1) all of the neuro-physical symptoms of dyspraxia (2) A propensity to think in the subconscious, (at times brilliantly) while remaining effectively blank in the conscious (3) repeatedly blurting and tangentialising during conversation (4) All of the attention deficit symptoms first observed by Sir William Crichton during the late eighteenth century (5) Thinking backwards (6) taking a while to sort out thoughts and perceptions in a rational manner (7) experience severe difficulties looking after themselves and their living space, I personally suffer from all of these symptoms, By remaining supportive of crass statements like 'ADHD is BS', the organisers of DTD demean the suffering of the many thousands of people who experience some subset of these symptoms and face bullying and rejection from Society because of them.
As I have always emphasised and campaigned about, millions of children and elderly people have been falsely diagnosed with ADHD and made to suffer from the terrible side effects of medications like ritalin and adderall. It is however essential to distinguish between this issue and the previous issue i.e. that many people genuinely experience a bundle of these symptoms. I think that the organisers of DTD have failed to distinguish between these issues. While I agree that many mental health symptoms are explainable by previous trauma, I do not believe that this is always true for 'people on the spectrum' e.g. people who have been categorized by consultants as 'suffering from ADD. Autism. Dyspraxia, or Aspergers', I call upon the organisers and members of DTD to consider these issues much more carefully before encouraging everybody to jump to false conclusions,
Two leading leading psychologists in the DTD group (Jo and Lucy) have intimated to me they have little experience and knowledge relating to people on the spectrum, That it all very well, but it means that they shouldn't be advocating treatments for patients who might be more neuro-diverse than experiencing a trauma-related condition, and they shouldn't be campaigning for a myriad of changes in mental health care without taking these compelling issues into proper account.
The DTD group organizers declined to post an item I shared with them on the basic history of ADD since the eighteenth century, and one of the organizers has since apparently tried to bully me as a sufferer from ADD with an insightful viewpoint,
Mr, Sidley. I have been among the first people to campaign against the misdiagnosis and maltreatment of people with ADHD, As far as your strange second point is concerned: if you are considering a pool of inpatients then some will often be on the spectrum, If you follow the approach advocated by Lucy Johnstone in Edinburgh then some of their conditions may well be overlooked, Therefore all the conditions and symptoms have to be considered and DTD cannot sidestep some of them. I will continue my non-parallel campaign on my Mental Health Discussions Edinburgh Facebook page and only occasionally comment on this page because of the narrow and politically motivated approach which you are suggesting
Here are some further comments from Mental Health Discussions Edinburgh:
