Background
Long waiting times for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments can prevent people from getting the vital care and medication they need. Health and education support often relies on a formal diagnosis, and delays in assessment and treatment can have long term negative impacts on individuals. For example, a recent reportwarned that failure to provide children with effective autism support can lead to increased prevalence of mental ill health and a greater risk of school exclusion. Alongside this, a huge rise in demand for autism and ADHD diagnoses has been documented amid increased awareness and understanding of neurodiversity. A review is currently underway to understand how changes in population prevalence, psychological distress, administrative diagnosis, service demand and underlying need relate to one another, and what those relationships imply for public policy and service design. This indicator explores the data on autism and ADHD to track how access to services has changed over time.
If you or a loved one are struggling with these conditions, visit: Spectrum Live (autism.org.uk), Beyond Autism or ADHD UK.
Referrals to autism services
Referrals to autism services are more common among children and young people than older adults. The rate of referrals per 100,000 population more than doubled for both population groups over this close to four-year period. For 0–17 year-olds, it increased from 397 in January 2022 to 1,133 in December 2025. By comparison, for people aged over 18 years it increased from 69 in January 2022 to 250 in December 2025.
Diagnoses for autism, and other behavioural disorders, tend to be more prevalent among males than females. Both sexes increased in parallel over the period shown. The rate of autism referrals per 100,000 population for males increased from 162 in January 2022 to 414 in December 2025, while the rate for females increased by a higher margin, from 114 in January 2022 to 421 in December 2025. The gap in the rate of referral between sexes appears to have been closed since July 2025 as the rate of referrals to men decreased from 408 per 100,000 population in June 2025 to 368 per 100,000 population in July 2025.
Waiting times for a first appointment with autism services
Guidance states that the process of diagnostic assessment for autism should begin within 3 months of referral. Wait times following referral for a first appointment can be extremely lengthy, with some ICBs reporting wait times well over two years. The proportion of individuals who waited less than 13 weeks (approximately three months) for their first appointment decreased slightly from 6% in April 2023 to 4% in December 2025. The proportion of those who waited over 13 weeks decreased by a greater extent, from 35% in April 2023 to 12% in December 2025. However, the decrease might signal longer waits over time, as the proportion of individuals who have no recorded appointment increased from 61% in April 2023 to 85% in December 2025. At least eight in 10 people whose referral had been open for 13 weeks had not yet had an appointment as of December 2025.
Support for managing autism
In the 2025 GP Patient Survey, patients were asked, “In the last 12 months, have you had enough support from local services or organisations to help you to manage your condition (or conditions)?” 4% of patients (amounting to 13,689 people) who answered this question indicated they had autism or an autism spectrum condition. Of those people, 51% said they definitely or to some extent had enough support, and 49% reported that they didn’t have enough support. This was the highest proportion of people to report not receiving enough support among the 16 conditions covered by this question.
Medication for ADHD
The rise in demand for ADHD support can be seen through the lens of national prescribing data. In the absence of publicly available data on diagnoses, this can be considered as a proxy for prevalence. Between 2015/16 and 2018/19, the number of individuals prescribed ADHD medication increased by 8-10% each year. In 2019/20, over 150,000 individuals were prescribed these medications – a jump from 15% from the previous year. The growth in 2020/21 was lower (5%), possibly due to disruptions to health services caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but in the following three years, the number of individuals with prescriptions grew by at least 20% each year. In 2023/24, over 300,000 people were taking ADHD medication prescriptions. This comes amid a backdrop of reports of national shortages of ADHD medications. Some people are not able to access their medications in the quantity or timescale they need.
About this data
NHS Digital’s Autism Waiting Time Statistics are classified as ‘experimental’ and should be treated with caution. Experimental statistics are new official statistics that are undergoing evaluation.
Autism diagnosis activity also happens in the Community Services Dataset (CSDS), but currently NHS Digital’s publication only includes data from the Mental Health Services Dataset (MHSDS).
Autism assessments for children and adolescents happen in two types of NHS services – child and adolescent mental health services and community paediatric services. Activity in community paediatric services is reported through the CSDS, so is not included. For this reason, we chose not to display the data for adults and children separately.
There have been some changes in methodology over time, including how a referral for suspected autism is counted as open. Other data quality issues include the completeness of the data providers submit. More information can be found on the NHS Digital website.
Rates of referral per 100,000 population were calculated using the mid-year population census estimates released by the Office for National Statistics. Population data for 2024 was used as a proxy for 2025, as 2025 data had not been made available at the time this indicator was being prepared.
Within the BNF Section Name ‘CNS stimulants and drugs used for ADHD’, the following medications, licensed for the treatment of ADHD, were used to specify the total identified patients being prescribed at least one medication for ADHD: methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine, dexamfetamine, atomoxetime, and guanfacine. Detail on the quality of the NHS Business Services Authority’s prescriptions data can be viewed here.
The GP Patient Survey gives patients the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences of their GP practice and other local NHS services. Patients are eligible for inclusion in the survey if they have a valid NHS number, have been registered with a GP practice continuously for at least six months at the point of selection, and are 16 years of age or over. For more detailed information, please see the GP Patient Survey - Technical Annex.