New figures from NHS data show that more than 200,000 people are still waiting for an autism assessment in England, which is a 25% increase in one year, and a 96% increase over the last two years.
Of these, 183,200 (89.4%) have been waiting over the 13 weeks recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
If this continues to rise at the same rate, there will be 256,095 waiting by this time next year. The median waiting time across England is 301 days.
The National Autistic Society says that an autism assessment can be the first step to really understanding people’s needs and too often people can’t get support without a diagnosis, even though this shouldn’t be the case. Waiting for months or years for an assessment leaves people struggling without the right support, increasingly stressed and anxious. It pushes some people to a mental health crisis.
Tim Nicholls, Assistant Director of Policy, Research & Strategy at the National Autistic Society, added: “The number of people waiting for autism assessments in England is now over 200,000 people. That’s more than the population of Reading. This should be a huge wake-up call to the Government to urgently fix this broken system which lets down autistic people and their families.
“The Government’s Budget gave an extra £22.6bn to the NHS in England. Ending the diagnosis waits crisis would take just a small part of that money. But without it, the crisis will go on and on, leaving autistic people, families and NHS services under the strain. No more excuses. It’s time to invest in autism assessment – and autistic people’s futures.”
