The assessment crisis needs action - right now
We know there are hundreds of thousands of people waiting for an autism and/or ADHD assessment. Many desperately need help. Yet they are waiting years. That’s years of not getting the right help in education or employment; years of struggling to access health or social care; years of mental health crisis, relationship breakdown, and feelings of isolation.Â
This can’t go on. We need the Government to step in and address this ongoing crisis.Â
The Government wants answers but isn't asking the right questions
Right now, ministers are telling us that before they can act, they need to understand the demand for assessment and support and why it has increased so much. We’ve said that the best starting point would be to contact everybody on a waiting list and ask why they need an assessment and what they are hoping a diagnosis will change.Â
We’ve been told the NHS can’t act in such a joined up, national way. Instead, the Government’s approach has been to pay for a review of ‘prevalence’ of autism, ADHD and mental health conditions. We don’t believe this will provide the answers that are needed.
by Tracey Parsons, Programmes Director
Let's just get on with it together - sign up to receive our new survey
We’re working with a neurodiverse team of researchers to develop a survey for anybody who’s asked for an autism or ADHD assessment in the last six years. This will be for both adults and children, and can be completed by someone who’s asked for an assessment for themselves or for somebody else, like their child.
We want tens of thousands of people to complete our survey.
That’s a bold ambition but we think we can do it with your help. We’re starting to collect contact details of interested people now, so we have a head start once the survey is ready.
Please complete the form to let us know you’re interested.
Help us reach tens of thousands of people so we can make their experiences count
You can help by sharing this page or our social posts with others with experience of seeking an autism or ADHD assessment.
You could also share with organisations that provide assessments. That could really help because they may be willing to share this survey with people on their waiting lists, past and present.Â
Want to help shape the survey as well as take part?
As we develop the survey, we’ll gather the views of many autistic people, parents and carers, and include assessment professionals, commissioners and policymakers. This will make sure the survey is as good as it can possibly be.
If you want to help shape this work and more, join our Community Network. You’ll receive updates, opportunities to share your views, and ways to take action.Â
We can’t guarantee you can shape this particular survey, because we won’t be able to review thousands of people’s suggestions, but we’ll ask as many people from our Community Network as we possibly can.
The assessment crisis needs action - right now
We know there are hundreds of thousands of people waiting for autism and/or ADHD assessments. Many desperately need help. Yet they are waiting years.
That’s years of not getting the right help in education or employment; years of struggling to access health or social care; years of mental health crisis, relationship breakdown, and feelings of isolation.
by Tracey Parsons, Programmes Director
The Government wants answers but isn't asking the right questions
This can’t go on. We need the Government to step in and address this ongoing crisis.Â
Right now, ministers are telling us that before they can act, they need to understand the demand for assessment and support and why it has increased so much. We’ve said that the best starting point would be to contact everybody on a waiting list and ask them why they need an assessment and what they are hoping a diagnosis will change.Â
We’ve been told the NHS cannot act in such a joined up, national way. Instead, the Government’s approach has been to pay for a review of ‘prevalence’ of autism, ADHD and mental health conditions. We don’t believe this will provide the answers that are needed.
Let's just get on with it together - sign up to receive our new survey
We’re working with a neurodiverse team of researchers to develop a survey for anybody who’s asked for an autism or ADHD assessment in the last six years. This will be for both adults and children, and can be completed by someone who’s asked for an assessment for themselves or for somebody else, like their child.Â
We want tens of thousands of people to complete our survey. That’s a bold ambition, but we think we can do it with your help. We’re starting to collect contact details of interested people now, so we have a head start once the survey is ready.Â
Please complete the form to let us know you’re interested.
Help us reach tens of thousands of people so we can make their experiences count
You can help by sharing this page or our social posts with others with experience of seeking an autism or ADHD assessment.
You could also share with organisations that provide assessments. That could really help because they may be willing to share this survey with people on their waiting lists, past and present.Â
Want to help shape the survey as well as take part?
As we develop the survey, we’ll gather the views of many autistic people, parents and carers, and include assessment professionals, commissioners and policymakers. This will make sure the survey is as good as it can possibly be.
If you want to help shape this work and more, join our Community Network. You’ll receive updates, opportunities to share your views, and ways to take action.Â
We can’t guarantee you can shape this particular survey, because we won’t be able to review thousands of people’s suggestions, but we’ll ask as many people from our Community Network as we possibly can.
