In recent years, like many parts of England, we have experienced a large increase in the number of people being referred for Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessments.
Referrals have massively increased for children and young people as well as adults. Unfortunately, this demand exceeds the appointments available which has led to a large waiting list of people waiting to be assessed. The current waiting list size will take several years to clear with referrals continuing to be received.
We want to tell local people about these challenges and our plans for improving the situation by reducing waiting times and providing support to individuals who have been referred for assessment.
We recently carried out an all-age review with many organisations and stakeholders including families and people who have lived experience alongside NHS and local authority colleagues. From that review several key plans and opportunities have been identified.
It is clear we need to do things differently. Our first area of focus is on children and young people, recognising that providing support earlier can have a major impact on their development, education, and overall wellbeing. Providing children and young people support will help them thrive in school, build relationships and develop all important life skills to take into adulthood.
We understand adults waiting for assessments may feel frustrated and overlooked, and we want to reassure you your needs are important to us. While our primary focus is on children and young people, this is part of a broader plan to improve services for everyone, including adults. Early support for children can help prevent future difficulties, but it does not mean adults are being forgotten.
We are currently developing a plan to introduce a local tool, known as profiling, which will be available to people working with children and young people to identify their individual needs and provide support ahead of an assessment. We are looking at developing this tool in partnership with NHS organisations, local authorities, and local people. This is something which was developed in Portsmouth which has been expanded by Cornwall. Both areas have seen positive results for children and young people by using this approach.
We are also looking at creating additional assessment appointments, to increase the slots available over the next two years whilst we develop a longer-term plan to create neurodiversity services which are fit for the future and provide all local people with the support they need.
We understand from families the waiting time can be extremely challenging, worrying and frustrating, and this can often relate to not knowing where to go for the right support.
Support and advice
Support for parents and carers:
Place2Be: Parenting Smart: Articles
Parents Mental Health Support – Advice for Your Child – YoungMinds
Digital support
Digital support for children and adolescents:
Dorset HealthCare :: ChatHealth (Confidential text messaging service)
