***(UK) Wales: 'High demand for services' leaves kids waiting years for ASD diagnosis

Feb 4, 2019, NorthWalesLive: Mum says she's been waiting nearly 10 years for son's autism diagnosis New figures show more than 1,300 children are waiting for neurodevelopmental diagnosis https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/mum-says-shes-been-waiting-15758601 A Gwynedd mum says she has had to wait almost a decade so far for an autism diagnosis for her son. Helen Whitney, from Llanbedrog, started the process in 2009, when son Adda was just two years old…. New figures reveal that across North Wales, 1,376 children are waiting for a diagnosis with the neurodevelopmental service, but only 50 of these are currently being assessed. And the longest wait for some children who have actually had a confirmed diagnosis has been more than two years. … Ms Whitney said she first noticed what she believed to be the signs of autism when Adda was around 18 months old…. She added: "What followed was years of messing about with various assessments…. The official diagnosis of autism is important for families and individuals as it means they can access various support services such as Disability Living Allowance and Carers Allowance. The National Autistic Society have been campaigning for professionals to have a better understanding of autism so that they can meet the needs of autistic people and are hoping that teachers in Wales will eventually receive training on disability awareness, including autism, as part of their initial teacher training. Executive Director of Public Health, Teresa Owen said: “Our neurodevelopmental service assessment process takes, on average, six weeks to complete, but we acknowledge that waiting times for assessment are too long for families and children. "We are working hard to address the high demand the service is facing and are recruiting to vacancies as quickly as possible. "We are also developing plans for how the service can improve and bring waiting times down.”