How neurodiversity can be a strength in sport - University of Calgary

Eric M. Garcia is a journalist based in Washington, D. C., and author of “We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation.” The United Kingdom government recently released its report on mental health conditions, autism, and attention deficit hyper-activity disorder. The report came about after now-former Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that he understood “how devastating it can be for people who face poor mental health, have ADHD or autism and can’t get a diagnosis or the right support.” But, he added, “I also know, from speaking to clinicians, how the diagnosis of these conditions is sharply rising.” Others in the United Kingdom have been just as callous.. Nigel Farage, the leader of the far-right Reform Party, has said that when an 18-year-old is put “on a disability register, unemployed, with a high level of benefits, you’re telling people aged 18 that they’re victims.” Even Dame Uta Frith, the German British psychologist responsible for much of the public understanding around autism, spoke earlier this year about how she no longer believes autism is a spectrum.