Children waiting years in Merseyside for first autism appointments

Autism Together say the worst part for families is not knowing when the appointment will come

Autism Together CEO Richard Whitby
Author: Harry BoothPublished 27th Sep 2024
Last updated 27th Sep 2024

A Wirral charity says children in our region are waiting YEARS for a first autism appointment.

It was revealed by the NHS that in the North West, the number of young people waiting at least 13 weeks has nearly doubled in the last four years.

It has increased from 1,020 to 1,955.

Autism Together offer specialist support to people with autism and their families.

CEO Richard Whitby said:

"Last month, over the month of September alone, we had 47 different enquiries from families asking us for support, advice and guidance.

"What we've found, in our experience, it's taken up to two years from application going in to actually the first pediatrician appointment with a confirmed diagnosis of autism.

"People are at breaking point"

"People are at breaking point when they start the assessment. They've reached out and tried every other option that they can before the assessment.

"There's no time-frame, it's an indefinite queue. Whilst they're in that list, you don't know when your number is going to be called.

"We see family break-ups regarding this"

"We see family break-ups regarding this because the sheer stress and anxiety this causes on the household is unbearable for some families and there's only charities like us, and some other ones on Merseyside that we know of, that actually offer the family support before diagnosis.

"We do a lot of intervention work with families, with schools when they're still waiting for the young person to actually have a diagnosis and how they can support them better.

"It's absolutely demoralising to know that as a parent as well, when you put the application in, you have no idea how long it's going to take.

There is an even bigger increase in the North East when it comes to patients waiting months or even years for that first appointment - up by 290%.

Mr Whitby is calling on any families struggling to reach out.

He added:

"Even if we can't offer actual physical support, just the idea of someone that is listening and what we found more than anything with parents and guardians is just to know that someone out there understands your problem and you're not alone, because a lot of the families will feel alone during this process because they wont have support circle around them, understanding what it's really like."

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