With record length waiting lists for a neurodevelopmental assessment and growing numbers of adults being referred has created a debate that autism and ADHD is being “over diagnosed”.
Through working with so many parents in a post diagnosis support position, they expressed that it had been a constant ‘fight’ to be listened to and believed. They had to battle with professionals to be referred for assessment and to get the correct help from local services.
The process is long, emotionally draining and comes with multiple hurdles to navigate along the way and lots of judgment. If you want to know more about the latest progress on this issue in parliament, take a look at the work being done by the National Autistic Society: A Constant Fight.
NICE guidelines recommend that no one should wait longer than 13 weeks for an autism assessment, but with different NHS trusts working in different ways for referrals, it’s a post code lottery as to how you get on a waiting list and what support is offered to families before and after diagnosis. According to NHS England (2025), in December 2024 there were 212, 964 patients waiting for an assessment. Considering the population in the United Kingdom is around 69.5 million (ONS, 2023) and the current number of individuals with a diagnosis of around 700,000, it is clear to see that the increase in diagnosis is due to more awareness and acceptance of autism and is a small number of the population.
In therapy I have come across multiple instances of misdiagnosis where adults have been treated for mood and eating disorders, receiving treatment that didn’t support their needs leading to trauma. Autistic people have always been autistic; we are just getting better at
recognising it and providing a correct diagnosis with support. If you would like to know more about the link between autism and eating disorders, please follow the link: Eating disorders and autism – Beat
As a therapist this is a topic that I frequently come across and I explore where client’s perceptions of autism originated and provide accurate information that hopefully will work towards removing the fear of a label. A concept that has stayed with me since university from my lecturer Dr Luke Beardon sums up a better way to see support for autistic individuals:
Autism + Environment = Outcome.
The autistic person cannot change, so if you want to change the outcome then you need to change the environment!