Ep. 5 The ADHD Guys Podcast: The Truth About The Rise in Late Autism Diagnoses

In this episode, hosts Ryan and Michael delve into the rising trend of late autism diagnoses and the implications for parents and children. They question the surge in inaccurate diagnoses and discuss the importance of looking beyond labels to focus on a child's unique needs and potential. What is behind professionals teaching fragility and how does that impact children's development? How can parents navigate through questionable diagnoses and prioritize their child's quality of life? Tune in to discover the answers and gain valuable insights into supporting children with ADHD.

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[00:00:00] Start
[00:00:00] Rise in mental health fragility.
[00:06:25] Social struggles in ADHD.
[00:08:36] Misconceptions about autism.
[00:11:33] Autism and ADHD misconceptions.
[00:15:03] Label obsession in child diagnoses.
[00:20:48] Teaching independence and resilience.
[00:23:16] Three areas of focus: home, academic, social

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ADHD Dude provides parent training through the ADHD Dude Membership Site, in-person school-year programs, and summer camps. ADHD Dude is not gender-specific content.

𝗔𝗗𝗛𝗗 𝗗𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁, 𝗟𝗖𝗦𝗪, 𝗔𝗗𝗛𝗗-𝗖𝗖𝗦𝗣
Ryan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified School Social Worker, and father to a son with ADHD & learning differences. ADHD Dude is based in Tucson, Arizona.

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗗𝗛𝗗 𝗗𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆:

ADHD Dude is for educational purposes. I am not serving in a clinical capacity and cannot provide clinical consultation or free advice through YouTube comments, email, etc.

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[averiemaddox]

Almost had to close my mouth after you described the therapist who thinks the child is more disabled than the parent thinks they are. Every single suggestion you mentioned—less demands, decompress, screen time… all of them were suggested for us, and although it seems gentle and kind, it leaves us in a circuitous stagnated place of little progress and the same challenges while I lose my mind in misery. And my gut knows it’s not working.
Thank you for what was aha moment for me

[CDVIDEOS]

I love that you are collaborating!! Such a a blessing to parents.

[rpouncy]

Gentlemen, thank you for your time and the perspective shared in this podcast. My now 16 year old son was diagnosed at age 3-4 with ADHD. Over the years and based on the diagnosis, he has been supported by a speech therapist, social pairings, a mentor and a math tutor. He has an IEP that supports his 10th grade high school level. His grades reflect that he is an A/B student. However, he does not self regulate any of his homework, he must be told to perform personal hygiene tasks and will spend countless hours of screen time if allowed. He has no willingness to do anything or demonstrate executive function, which is fed into by his mom who beleives much of what you've discussed in the podcast about fragility. I believe that the dianosis, while very important, can be overstated and lead to a second challenge of medication. From there our son has grown into a kid that has been surrounded by other kids with varied spectrum diagnosed conditions, that help in some respects, but harms in other respects. My point is that I agree with your perspective that for our son, we need to give the tools, not the fluff that helps strengthen his chances of life long executive functioning skills. How do we reprogram from a strong focus on academics and help our son realize more of his ability and not let him hide behind the labled diabilties?

[Heidi]

I appreciate hearing two male experts talking about ADHD. I think it makes a difference more than the highly feminised psychotherapy culture that seems to be dominating at the moment.

[RoseCKIW]

Omg the memes!!!! My son tries to make jokes by acting out the memes or refrencing them with no context. Luckily, he made a group of very similar friends that have very similar humor. The unlucky part is that he's not really getting a consistent message that those jokes aren't always going to land with wider audiances.

[lizmorgan]

My son is 23 and has Dyspraxia, OCD and although not diagnosed he has ADHD He didnt have difficult behaviour at school but from around 16 became aggressive at home refused to take responsibility. He became worse during COVID he has a distrust of government (UK) which wants to introduce things like 15 min cities and cashless societies/ 5G etc. These things aren't good I agree but he can obsess about them and use them as an excuse to avoid things
I realised by watching your videos that I've done too much for him and have stopped accommodating Inflexible behavior as you say. And its really helping . He is also doing keto diet.

[kwdlch]

How would you suggest we push our child to participate in an activity that is out of his comfort zone when he downright refuses and will blow up if he's forced?

[stephaniemcguirk]

Maybe the clinicians are burnout because other dangerous mental health conditions have increased . Maybe the professions are on the side of caution . Maybe they are afraid of the responsibility they have. If kids hurt themselves or actually get hurt they don’t want it to ‘ be their fault.’ I do t know just a thought.Sp they tell parents back off on the pressure. Not saying it’s good advice just trying to make sense of it. 20:33