By Rhiannon Ansemous Introduction Across the UK, individuals with autism and learning disabilities are supported by services that are expected to promote safety, wellbeing, and a meaningful life. Yet in many settings, the concept of “risk” has become a dominant organising force—often at the expense of autonomy, dignity, and happiness (Beadle-Brown et al., 2016; CQC, 2020). When risk management eclipses a person’s right to joy, connection, and agency, the result is not safety,

Professor Andrew McDonnell reviews ‘The Age of Diagnosis: Sickness, Health, and Why Medicine Has Gone Too Far’ by Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan (2025). In this new publication, Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan deals with a number of highly sensitive areas, including potential and misdiagnosis of a range of conditions such as ADHD, autism, cancer, and long Covid. Dr O’Sullivan, a consultant in neurology in London, presents a view that overdiagnoses of many conditions leads to a race for explanat

Article by Professor Andy McDonnell The recent HIQA report about the social care organisation Sunbeam House makes for very sobering reading. As a practitioner who has worked with both large and small organisations supporting people with intellectual disabilities and distressed behaviour for over 30 years, at times I experience déjà vu. Many who read the February 2025 report from HIQA may be reminded of the RTE documentary of 2014, Inside Bungalow 3, which exposed similar coer