I have a friend with a child in my DS's grade at his school. They were given an autism diagnosis by the school system for their child when he was around 3 and IEP was written. They say that now they can't get rid of it, and they do think that some of the "therapies" that the school has tried have been actually harmful, or at least not productive. The parents are not sure if he really has Asperger's or if he has severe ADHD and they are unable to afford private evaluations.
I'm sorry if you are offended by my saying "slapped with an autism diagnosis". I don't mean to imply that this is a horrific thing that's very negative. But if a child doesn't really have it, then yes, I do think it's a negative thing. No matter what the diagnosis or disorder, it's not a good thing to be labeled with it if you don't actually have it. Obviously if they do have it, then any supports/therapies they can get will be helpful and the younger they are started, the better. And even if a child doesn't really have autism, the supports/therapies MAY be helpful, but the child should be given supports/therapies which are validated by research for the actual disorder that they DO have whenever possible. So if a child really has an expressive language delay, being put into ABA therapy probably isn't going to be helpful and may be harmful. The problem arises when an early diagnosis is given, everyone assumes it is correct, and then it is not reconsidered later on as new evidence arises.
