(ENGLAND) Daily Mail:124K children on waitlist for ASD assessment; vaccines don't cause autism

May 15, 2025, Daily Mail: NHS 'overwhelmed' by soaring autism as number of patients surge by a quarter

More than 200,000 people are now waiting for an autism assessment in England, with some having been on the list for years, alarming NHS data show.

Autism charities said it was unacceptable that the equivalent of the population of Luton or Portsmouth was now waiting to been seen by a specialist.

The latest NHS England figures, which cover the period ending March this year, show the number of patients waiting at least three months for an initial specialist appointment has jumped by more than a quarter from the same time last year.

The figure has tripled since 2021, according to the data published today.

Experts have warned that the continued growth of the autism assessment waiting list has overwhelmed NHS capacity to provide patients much needed support.

Data show the number of children waiting for an assessment accounted for a large part of the increase, with over half having to wait over two years. 

In total, nearly 124,000 under 18s were on the waiting list for over three months, an increase of almost 30,000 compared to last year. 

While NHS guidelines state that patients should only have to wait 13 weeks for an autism assessment, the vast majority of patients, about nine in 10, wait far longer. . . .

Children who did get an autism assessment last year had been waiting for an average of a year and a half.

This compares to average waits of roughly a year for an assessment the year prior. 

When all figures are combined, including those seen with 13 weeks, there was a total of just over 224,000 patients with a referral for autism in NHS England in March.  

Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at charity the National Autistic Society said the situation required rapid action from Government. . . .

This chart shows the percentage increase in incidence of autism diagnosis from 1998 to 2018. UK researchers found autism diagnoses had risen by an 'exponential' 787% over 20 years. They said the rise could be due to increased recognition of the condition among experts particularly in diagnosing autism among girls and adults, but added an increase in cases of autism itself cannot be ruled out

 'An autism diagnosis can be life changing and in some cases life saving, but getting an autism assessment shouldn’t be this hard. 

'The NHS’s own guidelines say people shouldn’t wait more than three months for an assessment, but the average wait is now over 14 months. 

'The assessment can be the first step to really understanding people’s needs and, too often, people can’t get support without a diagnosis, although this shouldn’t be the case.

'Autistic people and their families face a constant fight for support in all aspects of their lives, and this often starts with long, traumatic waits for a diagnosis.'

What is autism? 

What does being autistic mean? 

Being autistic does not mean you have an illness or disease. It means your brain works in a different way from other people.

It's something you're born with or first appears when you're very young.

If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life.

Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a 'cure'. But some people need support to help them with certain things. . . .

What causes autism?

It's not clear what causes autism.

Nobody knows what causes autism, or if it has a cause. It can affect people in the same family. So it may sometimes be passed on to a child by their parents.

Autism is not caused by: 

bad parenting

 vaccines, such as the MMR vaccine 

diet 

an infection you can spread to other people 

Source: NHS

Ms Merritt said the Government must provide urgent ring-fenced funding to boost autism assessment capacity and end the 'worsening crisis'.

Dr Conor Davidson, the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ autism champion, added: 'We are deeply concerned that average waiting times for autism assessments are rising in England. 

'This leads to unacceptable delays in care which can significantly impact a person’s education, work and personal life.'

'It is estimated that at least 1% of the population is autistic, and some studies estimate this is higher, so it is possible that demand will continue to grow in the coming years.

'The Government must invest in NHS autism services to help improve diagnostic capacity and post-diagnostic support. Vital to this is ensuring services are properly staffed and equipped to provide timely support.'

Experts say the influx of patients looking for autism support is leaving the NHS system 'overwhelmed', leading many to miss out on 'vital support'.

Earlier this year Nuffield Trust chief executive Thea Stein said: 'Long waits for autism assessments are nothing new, but sadly they are now a new normal. . . .

It comes as the Children's Commissioner last year warned that children forced to wait years for autism diagnoses on the NHS are being 'robbed' of their childhoods. 

Data, accessed by the independent watchdog, shows one in six children seeking an autism diagnosis waited more than four years via the NHS's community services.

This increase comes amid ringing concern that autism may be being over diagnosed in England, with cases having exploded nearly eight-fold in recent decades. 

Some experts have repeatedly blamed growing awareness of the spectrum disorder, which was only widely diagnosed as its own condition this century.

This has led to a 'backlog' of cases, particularly among women and girls who were less likely to be diagnosed in the past.

An additional factor experts say could have contributed to the rise is the retirement of Asperger's syndrome.

This was once considered a separate condition, but which is now considered another form of autism.  . . .