| Abstract: | The present discussion paper is the result of a talk reflecting on the author's work as an educational psychologist with a specialist post for autism and working as part of a multidisciplinary pre-school assessment team involved in the diagnosis of autism. The article considers developments in diagnosis over the past 30 years and airs concerns with the widening of the spectrum of disorders; the medicalisation of personality and the paucity of thorough assessment across time and in a range of settings. The consequences of a cursory diagnosis are examined. |
