Fox News: Neurologist says we're over-diagnosing autism

Mar 20, 2025, Fox News: Neurologist fears 'overcorrection' at play in surge of autism, ADHD diagnoses

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6370267569112 

Neurologist fears 'overcorrection' at play in surge of autism, ADHD diagnoses

Neurologist Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the rise in neurological diagnoses seen across the United States.

Anchor Steve Doocy:

Studies show a rapid rise in medical diagnoses with one in 36 Americans aged between five and 13 having autism, more than 15 million total with ADHD.

Our next guest says we are turning too many people into medical patients and the diagnoses may be doing more harm than good.

Doocy asked why autism diagnoses are “surging” in the U.S. 

Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan:

You have to go back historically. When this concept was developed, it was described as extreme autistic aloneness. It was a very extreme condition that was extremely disabling.

And over the course of subsequent decades, people realized maybe this incredibly disabling disorder affects people in milder versions. And perhaps if we can detect milder versions, we can help more people.

I think what’s happened is we recognized that we had a history of under-diagnosis and neglect of struggling children, and we’re trying to correct it, but I fear we’ve over-corrected.

Doocy speculated that getting a diagnosis for a milder form of autism as a child goes with them for the rest of their life.

O’Sullivan: 

Precisely. Anyone who’s ever seen someone with severe autism will recognize what a difficult illness it is and how obvious the behavioral traits are.

If we’re looking at the very mild end of the spectrum, there’s a real faint line in the sand about where does normal become autistic at that end of the spectrum. It’s that end of the spectrum that worries me because if you tell somebody with a fairly mild impairment that they have autism, you are essentially saying to them, you’ve got a neurodevelopmentally abnormal brain.

What does that do to a child? It causes them to perhaps look inward and focus on their negative traits, to expect less of themselves. Others expect less of them.

Calling someone at that end of the spectrum autistic risks being a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I’m not saying this child doesn’t have difficulties. What I’m questioning is calling that difficulty autism in their best interest.

Doocy asked for O’Sullivan’s advice to parents.

I would ask for support for my child without labeling them. That’s where I really think we’re going wrong. We require these medical labels for a variety of things: for insurance, for extra support at school and so forth. Surely as a society, we can recognize a child is having difficulties and ask that they get specific accommodations or help without having to say that they have a medical problem or an abnormal brain.

So I wouldn’t wouldn’t hesitate to suggest that someone should ask for help, but I would ask them to think very long and hard—inaudible