>>Whereas in the past, parents would do anything to avoid such a diagnosis, now they are practically demanding it.<<

What sort of comment is that Paul?

Parents who would do anything to avoid such a diagnosis are not helping their child one little bit and IMHO are more concerned about the embarrasment of having a child who does not fall into the "normal" mould.

12 years ago, we knew that something was wrong with our 1 year old daughter and we started to pay an interest in her behaviour. By 2 it was very evident that something was seriously wrong, but we didn't know what. We involved the health authorities who did lots of tests and observations. After about 9 months of the observations, we were pretty sure she had Autism. However the consultants wouldn't tell us what they thought. So I approached a specialist in London who got in touch with them and within a week we had the answer.She was indeed on the Autistic Spectrum. By 3 and a half she was statemented and we were then in a position to help our lovely daughter. Knowing that diagnosis helped us to understand what was going on and I have spent the rest of the time fighting for her education and development so that when she is 16 she will be equiped as best as can be to meet the cruel hard world.

Becuase of the intervention in the early days, it has helped her to be able to cope with secondary school with one to one support.

Lizzie says it all above this post. Thats us.

So Paul, parents want a diagnosis in order to know how they can best help their child, and thank goodness that is more acceptable these days.
You will never know the heartache and battling that we have had to do, but without the "label" as you say, our daughters education and development may not have been anything like what she has had.

We as parents, owe it to our children to get the very best possible for them. It is not their fault, but it is certainly our responsibilty.