Two-year NHS waiting times reveal system’s struggle with rise in ADHD and autism awareness
A child wears a sunflower lanyard to indicate they have a hidden disability and may require extra time. Photograph: Vetre Antanaviciute-Meskauskiene/AlamyView image in fullscreenA child wears a sunflower lanyard to indicate they have a hidden disability and may require extra time. About 295,000 await an autism assessment.Formal diagnosis has grown in recent years, slowly from the early 2000s and rapidly since 2020.
- ▪A child wears a sunflower lanyard to indicate they have a hidden disability and may require extra time.
- ▪Photograph: Vetre Antanaviciute-Meskauskiene/AlamyView image in fullscreenA child wears a sunflower lanyard to indicate they have a hidden disability and may require extra time.
- ▪About 295,000 await an autism assessment.Formal diagnosis has grown in recent years, slowly from the early 2000s and rapidly since 2020.
2 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 8 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: lean left. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.
- ▪ NHS bodies in England impose two-year minimum wait for ADHD and autism assessments — The Guardian — UK
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — Politics |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/sep/25/two-year-nhs-waiting-times-reveal-struggle-rise-adhd-autism-awareness |
| Publication time | Fri, 25 Sep 2026 05:00:41 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-25T05:10:28.322Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-25T05:10:28.322Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
A child wears a sunflower lanyard to indicate they have a hidden disability and may require extra time. Photograph: Vetre Antanaviciute-Meskauskiene/AlamyView image in fullscreenA child wears a sunflower lanyard to indicate they have a hidden disability and may require extra time. Photograph: Vetre Antanaviciute-Meskauskiene/AlamyAutismAnalysisTwo-year NHS waiting times reveal system’s struggle with rise in ADHD and autism awarenessPatrick Butler Social policy editorNHS assessment bottlenecks have knock-on effects, leading to delays in medical help and lack of access to specialist supportFri 25 Sep 2026 01.00 EDTShareThat NHS boards have imposed minimum two-year waiting times for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism assessments shows a health service struggling to deal with…
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