(UK) Years of waiting for ASD assessments amid "financial challenges"

June 6, 2018, (UK) Tes: Children face five-year wait for autism check https://www.tes.com/news/children-face-five-year-wait-autism-check Pupils and their families are facing a “devastating” wait of up to five years for autism assessments. The long delays mean pupils are at risk of missing out on vital support at school, according to a national charity. Across the country, children are thought to be waiting, on average, more than three and a half years for a diagnosis after first raising concerns with professionals. But in one part of the country, it has emerged that the wait for an assessment is up to five years. Waiting times have grown in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, after the number of requests for assessments quadrupled, a local government document reveals…. Calderdale Council and the district’s clinical commissioning group are now carrying out a review into autism services to identify improvements. … Pre-school children in Calderdale are waiting for up to 12 months, according to the report. 'Strain on families' The report says the increase in requests for autism assessments was occurring “in the context of financial challenges and a lack of long-term resource". …