Chamberlain urges Government to support families awaiting diagnoses

Wendy Chamberlain MP for North East Fife asked the Health Secretary on Tuesday what he would do to ensure families awaiting ADHD and autism diagnoses are able to get the support they need.

Although diagnoses for young children is typically not given until the age of 3 and up, families require support to navigate the care and assistance available to their children.

Speaking in the Chamber, Chamberlain said:

“My constituents have struggled to get pre-diagnosis ADHD and autism support for their young daughters.

“We cannot diagnose children at a very young age, but that does not mean that families do not need help.

“Can the Minister confirm what engagement he will have with support organisations such as the National Autistic Society to ensure that best practice means that families are not struggling for support?”

A North East Fife mother said:

“The waiting times for both ADHD and Autism assessments continues to be unacceptable, causing unnecessary added stress and anxiety for individuals and their families.

“Our biggest concern within this process is the clear inequality regarding the identification and diagnosis of ADHD and autism in females in comparison to males.

“More understanding is needed to ensure that robust identification processes are in place, particularly in relation to ADHD. With diagnostics being based primarily on males, it is detrimental to females.

“In our situation, the delays for appointments and failure to fully recognise traits in females from a young age, is having a significant detrimental effect on our children socially, emotionally, physically and academically, all of which are negatively impacting upon their childhood, which should be the most care free years of their lives.

“Early intervention is key, yet it has been and continues to be, a constant and exhausting process over a number of years to continuously seek support for unmet needs.

“Parents and carers are the experts on their children and their concerns and intuition needs to be put at the forefront of identification processes.”

Chamberlain later commented:

“It Is clear that regardless of diagnoses, support is still absolutely vital and we must work to have a health and social care system that can manage this.

“The lack of research and understanding in the differences between ADHD and Autism in men and women urgently needs addressing too.

“I hope that the new Government will prioritise fixing our NHS and helping everyone get the support they need.”