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Sarah O'Brien
@sarahobrien.bsky.social
🎓 inclusive involvement PhD @ KCL - 📚 So, I'm Autistic out now - she/her - ♿️ - generally funny, views + typos own
188 followers157 following16 posts
SOsarahobrien.bsky.social

Is it possible that the increase in demand for ND assessments, which outstrip supply, is not in fact because of "misleading discussion on social media", but due to the decades of under-diagnosis leading to insufficient service provision? Surely not! #DarziReport

Paragraph 26. Demand for assessments for ADHD and Autism have grown exponentially in recent years. Since 2019, the number of children waiting at least 13 weeks for an assessment for Autism has increased at a rate of 65 per cent a year, while for adults the increase has been 77 per cent a year. Activity has risen too, with services now seeing 33,000 people a month. But as of March 2024, there were still more than 70,000 children and young people under 18 and more than 50,000 adults waiting at least 13 weeks for an assessment for Autism.
Paragraph 28. There is no consensus around what explains the dramatic increase in demand for assessment for ADHD and autism. Some believe that it is the conversion of unmet need into demand for assessment as stigma has reduced and awareness has increased. Others argue that is the result of self-diagnosis induced by misleading discussion on social media. No matter the cause, it is clear that with services overwhelmed, many people who need help will be missing out. NHS England’s taskforce on ADHD will have important recommendations to make.
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SOsarahobrien.bsky.social

Even before the discussion of ADHD and autism "exploded" on social media platforms a not insignificant number of people were waiting longer than the NICE guideline 13 weeks for an assessment. The system wasn't keeping up to begin with, let alone with more realistic pressures. #DarziReport

Number of patients with a referral for suspected autism, open for at least 13 weeks, who were still waiting for a first contact, April 2019 to March 2024

In 2019 at least 5,800 children had waited longer than 13 weeks and at least 3,100 adults had waited longer than 13 weeks for an autism assessment. By 2024 these numbers had reached 71,000 children and 54,000 adults on a curve resembling a slow extrapolation.
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Sarah O'Brien
@sarahobrien.bsky.social
🎓 inclusive involvement PhD @ KCL - 📚 So, I'm Autistic out now - she/her - ♿️ - generally funny, views + typos own
188 followers157 following16 posts