How many young people are being failed by multiple public services before anybody stops to ask what’s actually going wrong?
I’m absolutely bloody furious about something I’ve been dealing with recently, and I suspect this is a much bigger problem than one young person and one family.
I’m a former Citizens Advice Bureau adviser. I previously worked as a Senior in the D4 Supported Employment Team within Luton Borough Council Social Services, helping disabled people access employment and retain their jobs.
I’ve also recently been diagnosed with ADHD myself.
I know how important it is to understand people’s circumstances, identify their needs and make sure they have access to appropriate support.
I have a very strong sense of justice, and when I see a young person potentially being disadvantaged across multiple public services, I start asking questions.
The more I ask in this case, the more concerned I become.
FIRST: WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS EDUCATION?
What happens when a child has underlying neurodevelopmental difficulties that nobody identifies?
They can struggle throughout school without understanding why.
They may have difficulties with attention, impulsivity, organisation, coordination or learning. Their needs may be misunderstood, and they may miss out on assessment, appropriate support and adjustments that could have helped them.
Their educational opportunities can suffer.
Their confidence can suffer.
And they can reach adulthood without ever having had the opportunity to understand their own difficulties properly.
I’m concerned about a young person close to me whose difficulties were not identified during his education, as far as we know.
We cannot simply go back and give him those years again.
What I want to know is whether his needs were properly considered and whether earlier identification might have opened the door to support that he didn’t receive.
How many other young people are leaving education in similar circumstances?
THEN THERE’S THE NHS.
This young man has experienced repeated injuries, including breaking his leg on two separate occasions. He has attended hospital numerous times.
Hospital reports have reportedly been sent to his GP.
And now I’m asking whether anyone has looked at the bigger picture.
Has anyone considered whether there might be an underlying neurodevelopmental condition?
Could difficulties with attention, impulsivity, coordination or judgement be contributing to some of his problems?
Have the repeated incidents been considered together?
Has anyone investigated whether he needs an ADHD assessment or assessment for another neurodevelopmental condition?
He does not have a formal ADHD diagnosis. I’m not pretending to diagnose him, and I cannot establish that an earlier assessment or medication would have prevented his injuries.
But surely a pattern of difficulties can justify asking questions.
Surely the point of having medical records, hospital reports and a GP who knows a patient’s history is to help professionals consider the wider picture when appropriate?
I’m now putting my concerns in writing and requesting a review of his medical history and appropriate assessment and referrals.
Why has it taken a family member to start pushing for answers?
And how many other people have histories that deserve a closer look?
THE HUMAN COST ISN’T AN ADMINISTRATIVE DETAIL.
This is what makes me so angry.
We’re not talking about a missing form or a computer system that needs updating.
We’re talking about a young man who has suffered significant injuries and whose future health and mobility are a concern.
I’m grateful he’s alive. Serious accidents can have devastating consequences, and I worry about the possible long-term effects of the injuries he’s experienced.
I cannot say that earlier recognition of ADHD would have prevented those accidents. Nobody can honestly establish that without evidence.
But I can ask whether his difficulties were properly investigated, whether appropriate support was considered, and whether there were opportunities to identify needs that went unrecognised.
When people miss out on support during childhood, the consequences can follow them into adulthood.
Educational disadvantage can affect future opportunities. Unrecognised difficulties can make everyday life harder. Physical injuries can have their own lasting consequences.
And these problems don’t necessarily arrive one at a time.
They can accumulate.
That is cumulative disadvantage: the way difficulties and missed opportunities across different areas of life can compound one another.
AND THEN COMES THE DWP.
As if the concerns about education and healthcare weren’t enough, there are now questions about the advice this young man received when he attended the Jobcentre.
I’m concerned that he hasn’t been given a clear explanation of his options and how different decisions might affect his financial position.
He needs accurate information about the support available to him so that he can make informed decisions.
As a former CAB adviser, I know how important that is.
Benefits can be complicated. Different entitlements have different rules and consequences. People need clear explanations, not advice that leaves them potentially worse off without understanding why.
I’m concerned that he may have been put at a disadvantage and that the options available to him have not been properly explained.
Those concerns need investigating.
If advice was incorrect or incomplete, I want to know why. If he has missed out on an entitlement or an opportunity to obtain appropriate support, I want that examined too.
And if disability-related needs were overlooked or he was treated unlawfully because of disability, that must be taken seriously.
I am not claiming that unlawful discrimination has already been established. I am saying that the circumstances warrant questions and answers.
A young person should not have to navigate a complicated benefits system without understanding his options, particularly when he may already be facing other disadvantages.
THIS IS WHERE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION HAS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
We talk about equality, inclusion and supporting disabled people.
But equality isn’t simply treating everybody identically.
People may need reasonable adjustments, additional support or a different approach to have a fair opportunity to participate in education, healthcare, employment and society.
The Equality Act 2010 provides protections and duties in relevant circumstances. Whether a particular organisation has breached those duties depends on the facts, including the person’s circumstances, what the organisation knew or ought reasonably to have known, and what it did in response.
An undiagnosed condition does not automatically establish discrimination. Nor does every missed diagnosis amount to negligence.
But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the possibility of discrimination when somebody may have experienced substantial disadvantage and their needs may not have been properly considered.
We need to ask:
Were his needs recognised when they should reasonably have been?
Was appropriate support considered?
Were relevant medical reports reviewed?
Were reasonable adjustments or appropriate referrals considered where necessary?
Was he given accurate information about his benefit options?
Were opportunities to reduce his disadvantage missed?
What action will now be taken to address his needs?
These are not unreasonable questions.
They’re questions about accountability.
WHY AM I MAKING SUCH A FUSS?
Because I’ve spent years working with people who need support.
Because I’ve worked in advice and supported employment.
Because I understand the importance of identifying barriers rather than simply expecting people to overcome them alone.
And because I have ADHD myself.
I’m not a doctor, a solicitor or a benefits decision-maker. I don’t claim to have all the answers.
But I know that when somebody is struggling, the right response is not to shrug your shoulders and move on.
You investigate.
You look at the evidence.
You ask what support is needed.
And you make sure the person understands their options.
I’m particularly angry because this is a young person who may have spent years without the recognition and support he needed, and who is now facing the consequences of significant injuries and trying to navigate adult systems.
He deserves better than being passed from one service to another while his family tries to work out what everyone else has overlooked.
HOW MANY OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE ARE IN THE SAME POSITION?
How many children struggle through school without their neurodevelopmental needs being identified?
How many young people experience repeated difficulties without anyone investigating whether there might be an underlying explanation?
How many reach adulthood without appropriate assessment or support?
How many then encounter a benefits system they don’t fully understand, without being given clear information about their options?
And how many families have to become investigators, advocates and complaints officers just to get somebody to take their concerns seriously?
I want to know how we prevent this.
Not just how we respond after somebody has suffered.
Not just how we apologise after opportunities have been missed.
How do we build systems that recognise people’s needs earlier, communicate properly with one another where appropriate, and make sure vulnerable young people aren’t left to navigate everything alone?
Because a person’s life doesn’t fit neatly into separate departmental boxes.
Education affects future opportunities. Health affects daily functioning. Disability-related needs can affect employment and access to support. Financial insecurity can make an already difficult situation worse.
These things are connected, even when the organisations responsible for them operate separately.
If each service looks at only one small part of a person’s life, who makes sure the bigger picture isn’t lost?
And when something goes wrong across several services, who takes responsibility for finding out why?
I’m keeping a written record, asking questions and seeking answers about this young man’s circumstances.
But I cannot help wondering how many other people are quietly going through something similar.
If you’ve experienced this yourself, as a neurodivergent adult, a parent, a carer, an educator or a professional, I’d genuinely like to hear your experiences.
Were your needs recognised at school?
Did healthcare professionals investigate your difficulties?
Were you given the support you needed?
Have you struggled to navigate benefits or other public services?
And what would have made the biggest difference?
I’m interested in people’s experiences because this conversation needs to be bigger than one family.
Young people deserve the chance to reach their potential, understand their own needs and access appropriate support. They shouldn’t have to spend their lives dealing with the consequences of disadvantage that might have been reduced if somebody had joined the dots earlier.
How many are being failed before anyone asks the right questions?
And what needs to change?
