Diagnosis has been available only since 2012, first through adult disability services, and from 2017 for people already accessing specialist mental health services.
But it was not until 2023 that a specialist diagnostic practitioner was employed as the first dedicated staff member for adult autism assessment, allowing members of the community better access to an assessment.
‘Once our existing waiting list had been reduced, in June 2024, we opened the service to those people who had been referred, but not accepted, and to referrals from the community, for example GPs,’ said Adult Autism Assessment Team lead speech and language therapist Kitty Stewart.
‘Since then, we have been steadily working through this list, and adding new referrals as they come in.’
Since 2018 the team has received referrals for nearly 120 adults.
When the criteria were extended in October last year, there were 60 people on the waiting list, including priority and routine referrals.
But demand had been growing – from 25 referrals in 2023 to 57 in 2024.
‘This increase includes transition referrals (who are people who have turned 18 while waiting for an assessment from children services), referrals to our priority list and community referrals, so not just GP referrals,’ said Ms Stewart.
‘This is similar to what UK services are experiencing in terms of increasing referral rates. Despite this, most recent statistics suggest we are not only managing current demand but have reduced waiting times for those on the priority and community list.’
The longest waiting time for someone not yet allocated an appointment dates back to July 2023.
Ms Stewart said the waiting time currently varied depending on how the person was referred.
‘Someone referred to our priority list now may expect to wait around six to eight months, down from over a year in 2022,’ she said.
‘Someone referred to our routine community pathway now may expect to wait just over a year, when at the beginning of this year we were predicting an 18-month wait.
‘It is important to note any change within a small team with limited resources, such as increased referrals, sickness, other leave or vacancies, can quickly impact on waiting times which are always difficult to predict and these anticipated waiting times are always subject to change.’
An assessment is usually completed within about three months.
‘Some assessments may take more time if they are more complex, or people may need onward referrals and assessments before the process can be completed,’ said Ms Stewart.
Like many specialist diagnostic teams in the UK, the local team had a high diagnosis rate.
‘That is in part because we screen referrals to ensure an assessment is indicated, so people who clearly won’t meet the diagnostic criteria wouldn’t be accepted for assessment,’ she said.
‘Generally people react positively. They are relieved or feel validated or feel it will help them with work, family or life in general.’
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