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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Sally Weale Education correspondent

Overdiagnosis of children overlooks that growing up is ‘messy and uneven’, says Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt said while he was health secretary he witnessed a big increase in the prevalence and seriousness of mental ill-health among young people.
Jeremy Hunt said while he was health secretary he witnessed a big increase in the prevalence and seriousness of mental ill-health among young people. Photograph: lovethephoto/Alamy

Children and young people are being overdiagnosed with mental health conditions in a society that has lost sight of the reality that child development is “messy and uneven”, the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

He is the latest senior figure to add his voice to calls for a radical overhaul of the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system in England.

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