(UK) Conwy, Wales: 3,000 children on waitlist for "neurodiversity assessment"

June 12, 2025, The Free Press: North Wales children in four year waits for autism diagnosis

The  claim was raised during a meeting of Conwy Council’s social care and health scrutiny committee at Coed Pella, where senior representatives from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board faced pressure to explain long waiting lists for children with conditions such as autism.

It was revealed at the meeting that nearly 3,000 children in Conwy and Denbighshire are currently on the waiting list for a neurodiversity assessment.

Alison Cowell, Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board’s assistant area director for child and adolescent health, acknowledged the delays and admitted the service is under strain.

The National Autistic Society expressed concern at the “unacceptably long waiting times” for a diagnosis.

Councillor Cathy Augustine, the cabinet member for children, families, and safeguarding, expressed concern about the numbers of children still waiting for an assessment.

Four years

She said there had been a commitment to getting neurodiverse assessments for children done in less than four years for each child.

“I wanted to understand where we were with that, and how many children  we might have – even if we have ticked that box and nobody is waiting longer than four years – have we got hundreds of our young people waiting three years and eleven months, for example,” she asked.

“Because we know, even though an assessment isn’t necessarily the be-all and end-all, it does, under our current structure, unlock a lot of support. It unlocks finances in schools to those young people.” . . .

While she said she was optimistic going forward, she said there had been a huge increase in potential neurodiversity cases coming forward since the pandemic. . . .

 “I’m trying to make sure that we actually use our capacity across North Wales as efficiently as we can. That’s challenging for us, and for children and young people who are neurodiverse, because, as you will know around the room, the support that they have from schools is fundamental to their ongoing profile, and what they need in terms of support, as well as the diagnosis.”

She added: “And the diagnosis isn’t a one-off appointment. The assessment and the diagnosis take time. So that is a significant piece of work that is a priority for me, as the executive director of children’s services. And as you’d rightly say, it is a priority for the Regional Project Board, and we are working really hard to improve that experience, and clearly the performance of that service as well.”

Long waiting times

James Radcliffe, external affairs manager for Wales at the National Autistic Society said: “We are deeply concerned about the unacceptably long waiting times children and adults are facing for an autism diagnosis. 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, although this shouldn’t be the case. An autism diagnosis can be life changing and in some cases lifesaving.” . . .