Making neurodiversity less medical

The Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism (see previous post) has produced an interim report. Its main interpretation of the evidence is that there needs to be more of an emphasis on functional need rather than diagnosis alone.

The implications for policy and service design are to be worked out before the final report. It would be better, at least as far as neurodiversity is concerned, if assessment did take more of a functional rights-based approach. The person’s level of functioning and the intervention which can maximise functioning, together with an evaluation of the usefulness of that intervention, need to be properly assessed. This is required primarily in educational and workplace settings. In effect, this should shift much of the work of assessment and treatment from health services to educational and occupational psychologists.