Introduction
We know waiting for an autism or ADHD assessment can feel stressful and uncertain. Below you’ll find how long young people are waiting, and what support is available while you wait. We update this page monthly.
We share these averages to help you understand what most families experience, but these times are not a guarantee. We’re doing everything we can to carry out assessments as quickly and as fairly as possible by working through requests in the order they were received. Like many areas, we are working against increasing national pressures, but we are doing everything we can to improve and keep families informed.
Average timescales
We measure each stage of the process separately so you can see the most up‑to‑date information. For referrals and post-diagnostic support the average time means we add up the time taken for all cases that finished that stage in between January and March 2026, then divide by the number of cases. This gives a clear picture of how long that stage usually takes.
For assessments, instead of giving a set number of months, we share the referral dates we are currently working on. This helps give a more realistic picture of progress, as every child’s assessment journey can be different.
- From referral being received, to a triage decision being completed: 3 weeks
Note, it can take a further 6 weeks from the clinical decision being made and the letter to reach you. Position on the waiting list is always from date referral was received.
See more about this stage on our page Neurodevelopmental Next Steps Form - Assessments are currently in progress for young people that were referred on or before March 2023
See more about this stage on our page Neurodevelopmental Assessments for 5 to 17 year olds (school age) - From ADHD diagnosis to starting ADHD psychoeducation course: 3 months
- From ADHD diagnosis to seeing an ADHD nurse for post‑diagnostic support: 12 months
See more about this stage on our page support after an ADHD diagnosis.
Please note that each stage is measured on its own. So we can share the latest data without waiting for the full process to finish.
Referrals received and assessment outcomes shared
- Referrals received in January to March 2026 – 510
- Assessments completed in January to March 2026 – 215
Support while waiting
You do not have to wait for a diagnosis to get help for your young person. Support is available at every stage. This is sometimes called ‘waiting well’.
Our page Supporting neurodivergence at the earliest opportunity offers advice, guidance and practical help for families, schools and professionals. The Children and Young Peoples Neurodevelopmental Pathway has a Neuro-affirmative support hub. This is a phone line where you can phone and speak to a clinician. They can talk to you about what is difficult and then help you by suggesting a range of support options which are personalised to you. You can access this support at any time while you wait to begin your assessment. You can access it more than once.
The Neuro-affirmative support hub line is currently open 2 days a week. The phone number is 0303 033 3002. It is open 9am to 12pm every Wednesday and Thursday morning for clinical queries.
In rare and exceptional situations, a neurodevelopmental assessment may need to happen urgently. This is only when a child or young person is at significant risk, and a quicker assessment could help reduce those risks. If you are worried about a child or young person’s safety, it is important to contact the appropriate specialist service as soon as possible so the right support can be put in place.
Only specialist services can make a request for an assessment to happen sooner. Find out more about expedited assessments on our page Neurodevelopmental Next Steps Form.
Working to improve
Being a parent or carer of a child with extra needs can sometimes be tricky, and it’s not always easy to know what to do. To help with this, we have a range of support that is available before, during and after your young person’s assessment, as described above.
The Somerset Parent Carer Forum has made some special workshops. These are based on what parents and carers have said they want help with and can be accessed at any point on your journey.
The idea behind the project is to empower parent carers through Workshops for Information, Support and Education (WISE). All the workshops are delivered or co-delivered by someone with lived experience of being a parent carer.
Find out more on our WISE Up Workshops page.
Once your child reaches the top of the waiting list, you will be contacted to book their appointments. We are using a new model where most assessments are completed within two appointments. This reduces the length of time your assessment will take. It also means that most families leave with the outcome of the assessment on the day of the assessment. The feedback we have had from families and young people is that this reduces anxiety waiting to find out the outcome of their assessment.
You can read more about what an assessment looks like on our page Neurodevelopmental Assessments for 5 to 17 year olds (school age).