Intereresting as implies that such diagnoses are
universally a bad thing. I can't see how saying that is defensible myself.
I remember running a session of diagnostic labelling for
clinical psychology trainees for a nujmber of years. We usually seemed to end up
in the position that there were both pros and cons. I can help feeling that
banning screening (or diagnostic labelling) is a rather unsophisticated response
to a complex issue.
John McGowan
I'm not sure how many people on the list work
directly with children but any clinical psychologists in child services will
have colleagues using terms like Autistic Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Asperger's
and so on. You may be aware that the incidence of prescribing stimulants to
children has increased 10,000X in ten years. This is partly on the back of a
diagnostic regime carried out by psychologists and psychiatrists, often
justified because the diagnosis brings much need financial benefits (at the
price of a disability label). The US has had so called mental health screening
of children for years - with a huge increase in prescriptions.
Piedmonte just passed a law against screening of
children in schools. Children cannot be the subjects of psychological tests, nor
can they have their "psychological state" assessed. It might be helpful to draw
this to the attention of colleagues. It is not unlike the law against ECT in
Germany, Holland and Italy in that the illegality of such procedures elsewhere
sometimes makes UK and US professionals take note.
Craig
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