"Wes Streeting is a politician whose keen interest in the zeitgeist is only matched by his seeming drive to be as close to the heart of it as possible. It is, therefore, not much of a surprise that the secretary of state for health and social care should end the year by announcing what the official blurb calls an independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism."
"Many of the resulting headlines put it more pithily: in keeping with an increasingly deafening media din, this will seemingly be an investigation into overdiagnosis. Candidates for 2025's word of the year have so far included rage bait and parasocial, but overdiagnosis is surely the term that perfectly captures the intellectual and political fashions of the past 12 months. Having been pronounced on, with his usual belligerent ignorance, by Nigel Farage, overdiagnosis has become an obsession of the Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice."
Wes Streeting announced an independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism. Media coverage framed the review as an investigation into overdiagnosis. The concept of overdiagnosis has gained prominence, particularly following Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan's The Age Of Diagnosis. Figures such as Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have promoted overdiagnosis narratives, criticizing accommodations for neurodivergent children. The review's terms of reference mention prevalence, drivers, early intervention and treatment. The remit mixes mental illnesses like anxiety and depression with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD. This mixing raises concerns about political motives and the risk of undermining support for neurodivergent people.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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