Health and social care services in Birmingham are failing to provide the care that many children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) need and deserve, with parents and carers reporting waits of a year or more for assessment and diagnosis, problems getting referrals and a lack of support to help them care for their child.
Read the 32-page Healthwatch Birmingham report here (pdf) or a short summary here.
My own statement as Chair of Healthwatch Birmingham in support of the report is below:
As a society we have a responsibility to ensure that every child has the support they need. Our report shows that we are failing in that responsibility. This is put in stark relief by one of the parents who shared their views with us, who felt the long delay in getting her child referred and assessed was “robbing” her of the chance to enjoy her secondary school years.
Issues around shortages of the staff needed to meet the ever increasing demand for neurodiversity assessments that lie at the core of these delays cannot be resolved in Birmingham alone. We call on the new government to identify and take the immediate and long-term action necessary.
But, as many parents told us, there are also things that can be done locally.
There must be a change of approach from one that is diagnosis-led to one which focuses on the needs of those seeking help. Care and support must be offered in a timely way, whether families have received a diagnosis or not.
Local services have told us they understand this, but must now translate that understanding into improving practical support.
– Richard Burden, Chair, Healthwatch Birmingham
