Diagnostic overshadowing

Diagnostic overshadowing is when the symptoms of one problem are wrongly explained by a diagnosis a person already has. NHS England tells front-line staff to be aware of it, describing it as symptoms of physical or mental ill health being misattributed to a person's learning disability Learning disability A health term for finding it much harder to learn and to manage everyday tasks, starting in childhood. It is not the same as a learning difficulty at school. Read the full definition of Learning disability or autism Autism Autism is a difference in how the brain develops. It shapes how an autistic child sees and experiences the world, how they communicate, and how they respond to things like noise, light and touch. Read the full definition of Autism , leading to delayed diagnosis or treatment.

For a parent it usually arrives as a sentence: 'it is just their autism'. A stomach ache, a change in mood, disturbed sleep, a skill going backwards: each of these can be part of a neurodivergent Neurodivergent Neurodivergent means a brain that works in its own way, not the way most people expect. Autistic people, and people with ADHD or dyslexia, are all neurodivergent. Read the full definition of Neurodivergent child's baseline, and each can also be a sign of something new that needs its own attention. Overshadowing is what happens when nobody checks which.

Having the exact phrase is genuinely useful. Asking 'could this be diagnostic overshadowing?' in an appointment is a question health professionals recognise, and it politely insists that a new symptom is looked at on its own merits. You know your child's baseline better than anyone, which makes you the best-placed person to notice a change from it.