Oh my goodness! I wish I could say that I'm surprised by this, but I'm not. Do you mind me asking what country you live in? I'm a preschool teacher in Ireland and have heard similar stories. Not quite being told to self diagnose by doctors but plenty of times being told to keep a child up all night before an assessment, or don't give them breakfast, or fight with them constantly beforehand to get them all riled up so that they can appear 'worse' for the assessment.

Now don't get me wrong I actually don't blame parents OR doctors for this. It's the system that deems a child not severe enough to get the help that they so badly need. If they don't tick enough boxes they're left in limbo with clear and obvious needs, but missing out on a vital 'tick' that means they get NOTHING.

I don't know what you decided to do but as parents we do the best we can for our children. I wish you and Makai all the best and all the strength that you'll need. 🤞