University College London Adult Autism Assessment Clinic Evaluation

Award outcome

Description

There has been significant year on year increases in the number of people waiting for an autism assessment. Demand for assessment continues to outstrip capacity in the workforce needed to deliver them. It is vital that autism assessment pathways are delivered through a quality and equity lens, considering evidence-based practice and research. UCL is launching an autism assessment and post-diagnostic support clinic in October 2025. There are several elements that could provide essential learning for systems and services, providing that they are evaluated robustly. The third level student population represent a specific challenge to the dynamics of adult waiting lists. In many places waiting times are now longer than the duration of study which creates a variety of unpredictable demand characteristics. Removing student populations from local specialist autism teams could positively impact the waiting list. An evaluation looking at the Clinic's success in contributing to more timely, less costly and more effective autism assessment services, with enhanced experience at each stage of support would support decision making around the assessment pathway and could lead to national policy development. UCL (which has unrivalled clinical and research expertise in neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions) is in a unique position to be able to provide an evaluation of this type. In addition, it will provide evidence about how best to support neurodivergent students (including autistic people) which is also crucial, given that a recent review found 30% of serious incident reports (of suicide and non-fatal self-harm) in higher education students described a diagnosis of, or suspected, neurodiversity (including autism and ADHD)

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