ADHD and autism at risk of over-diagnosis, says government review

The Watsons are just one family who have experience of this. Ryan and his wife knew there was something different with their son Atlas when he was around 12 to 18 months old and missing development milestones.

But it took three years to get an autism assessment. As time passed, his needs became increasingly clear. Now nearly seven, Atlas is non-verbal, still wears nappies and relies on others for all aspects of daily care.

Despite this, Ryan said there was no fast-track route for children with the most complex needs. "You basically go on the list and wait however long until you get to the top."

The wait left the family racing against time to secure support before Atlas started school. Ryan and his wife feared he would be placed in a mainstream school.

"We were terrified," Ryan says. "Anyone who has a child like Atlas will have the same panic that they'll start in a mainstream school where it's not safe."

The strain was immense. "It was like I had two jobs," Ryan says. "I was going to work and then coming home and dealing with these things."

Atlas was eventually diagnosed only months before starting school.

The review said not every difficulty required a medical response and there was a risk of blurring the lines between diagnosable ADHD and autism and what should be considered the normal human variation in brain function, cognition and behaviour.

it said there was a risk society was now moving from an era of under-diagnosis to over-diagnosis or mis-diagnosis, pointing to data showing more than 4% of children aged six to 17 were now diagnosed with autism, well above the 1-2% that studies suggest is the true level.

But it said because some of these figures date back nearly a decade it was not possible to be absolutely certain or conclude over-diagnosis was currently occurring at scale.

Mel Merritt, of the National Autistic Society, said the report shows that successive governments "have failed autistic people".

"The harm and distress autistic people are facing is real and widespread and there is a desperate need to build a system that supports the needs of autistic people."

Abigail Ampofo, of charity YoungMinds, said: "For years, young people have told us they feel blamed for their mental health or accused of making it up. We hope this review goes some way to show them their distress is not their fault and the systems around them are failing."

But she said that would require major reform.

The government welcomed the publication of the report and said it would be setting out a new model of providing support in its forthcoming mental health strategy, which is expected before the end of the year, and also promised to introduce tougher regulation of ADHD and autism assessments.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper added: "Professor Fonagy's review has shown the importance of early intervention to address mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions and the huge distress these can cause."