The Government’s Mental Health Review presents an important opportunity to examine how mental health, ADHD and autism services are currently experienced by autistic and neurodivergent people, and where systems may be falling short. Launched in December 2025, the review responds to growing concern about rising demand for services, increasing waiting times, and questions about whether current pathways and interventions are meeting needs.
The Government’s Mental Health Review is examining how mental health, ADHD and autism services are working in practice—especially for autistic and neurodivergent people. It looks at access (including waiting times and pathways), whether current interventions fit people’s needs, and what would help earlier support happen before crises.
If you’re trying to follow the review, focus on three questions: how people get help, what adjustments services make for neurodivergent presentation, and how prevention/early intervention could reduce escalation.
What Do You Need to Know?
On 4 December 2025, the Government launched its review into mental health, ADHD and autism services, in response to growing concern about the sharp rise in demand across these areas. Increasing referral rates, longer waiting times and pressure on services have prompted questions about how effectively current systems are meeting needs, particularly for autistic and neurodivergent people.
The review is not only focused on service capacity, but also on whether existing approaches are appropriate and accessible. This includes examining how people access support, the role diagnosis plays in unlocking help, and whether current mental health pathways are equipped to respond to neurodivergent presentation. For many autistic people, support is often accessed through services that rely on general mental health frameworks, where autism-informed understanding may be limited.
The review will also consider opportunities for earlier intervention and prevention, including how evidence-based approaches and autism-informed mental health courses could strengthen practice across services. Its findings are expected to inform longer-term policy decisions and shape the Government’s wider 10 Year Health Plan, with implications for how mental health support is commissioned, delivered and experienced in the future.
What Does it Mean for Autistic/Neurodivergent People?
For many autistic and neurodivergent people, accessing mental health support has long been challenging due to systemic barriers, inconsistent pathways and services that are not designed around neurodivergent ways of communicating and engaging. Research shows that autistic adults, for example, experience poorer access to and outcomes from mental healthcare compared with non-autistic people, including lower satisfaction with services and less improvement following standard interventions such as talking therapies.
Autistic and neurodivergent people can struggle to access mental health care when services rely on “standard” communication, sensory expectations, and symptom checklists. When staff aren’t autism-informed, distress can be misread as behaviour or non‑engagement, leading to discharge, repeated referrals, or support that doesn’t fit.
Helpful first steps are usually practical: offer communication adjustments, reduce sensory load, slow the pace, and make expectations explicit—before moving on to intervention choices.
Barriers extend beyond mental health services. Autistic people can face difficulties accessing basic healthcare, including sensory overload in medical environments, communication barriers with providers, and models of care that do not suit neurodivergent needs. These barriers contribute to experiences of unmet needs, delayed help-seeking and reliance on community or family support without professional involvement.
The consequences of these gaps are wide-ranging. Evidence indicates autistic people are more likely to reach out for mental health support, with a large proportion reporting unmet service needs, yet services are not always equipped to deliver accessible, autism-informed care. Adults with autism also face inequalities across health and social systems, with poorer communication and service responsiveness compared to non-autistic peers.
What Does it Mean for Their Families?
For families of autistic and neurodivergent people, access to appropriate mental health support often determines whether everyday life feels manageable or overwhelming. When mental health services lack autism-informed understanding, families frequently become the main source of support while navigating long waits, unclear pathways and repeated referrals.
Many families describe having to advocate persistently to access help, often being told that services are not commissioned to support autistic people’s mental health needs or that support cannot be offered without a diagnosis. In these situations, families may be left supporting a relative with significant distress while waiting for specialist input, without guidance or reassurance. This is where gaps in standard mental health provision become particularly visible.
The Government’s Mental Health Review has the potential to address these issues by examining how services are commissioned and whether autism-informed mental health courses and training are embedded across services. Improved professional understanding can reduce the burden placed on families to explain needs, request adjustments or manage risk alone.
What Do We Know About the Review?
The terms of reference for the Government’s Mental Health Review are published on the Government’s website. They confirm that the review will:
- Explore why increasing numbers of people are turning to the NHS and other services for support, including the role that diagnosis plays in accessing help and whether current interventions are appropriate and effective for people’s needs.
- Examine prevention and early intervention, with a focus on identifying practical, evidence-based approaches that could reduce escalation to crisis and improve outcomes earlier. This includes considering whether current service models and workforce capability are fit for purpose.
- Be led by Professor Peter Fonagy, a clinical psychologist and National Clinical Advisor on Children and Young People’s Mental Health, bringing a strong focus on evidence, clinical practice and developmental mental health.
- Inform the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, shaping how mental health support is commissioned and delivered for adults and children, with findings due to be published in summer 2026.
- Be shaped by an advisory working group made up of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities and people with lived experience, ensuring that recommendations are informed by both research and real-world experience.
Taken together, the scope of the review suggests that it may also influence how professional skills and training are developed across services, including expectations around autism-informed practice within mental health courses and wider workforce development.
What Research and Lived Experience Show About Autism, ADHD and Mental Health Support
Evidence from services, practitioners and autistic people themselves points to consistent gaps in how mental health support is accessed and delivered for autistic and neurodivergent people. These gaps are directly relevant to the Government’s Mental Health Review, particularly its focus on access, appropriateness of intervention, and early support.
Individual practitioners and small teams from up to 50% of NHS Trusts across the UK have engaged in Autism and Mental Health Training provided by NCAMH. Across this training, a number of common themes have emerged, highlighting structural issues rather than isolated service pressures.
- Adult and CAMHS teams across the UK report that in some cases up to 60% of referrals to their services may involve autistic or neurodivergent people seeking mental health support.
- Many mental health services indicate that they are not commissioned to provide mental health support, with no clear autism/ADHD mental health pathway in place. Many would welcome a change to the commissioning parameters so that they could make the necessary adjustments to their services and provide earlier supports (regardless of an autism/ADHD diagnosis).
- Practitioners on the courses have said that many of the resources shared throughout the training have been helpful to all their clients (regardless of diagnosis). Improving access to evidence-based resources is making a real difference to the way in which services are being provided and strengthening the way they advocate for support and adjustments across different settings (e.g. in the school environment).
- Where there isn’t an autism and mental health pathway in place autistic people are often referred to Learning Disability (LD) Services. Many LD services indicate that they are not equipped to meet the co-occurring mental health support needs that autistic people may experience.
- Autistic people often find themselves caught between two services, with neither feeling sufficiently confident in supporting their mental health needs, often leading to discharge with no actual support in place. This only serves to exacerbate the mental health condition which may then lead to a crisis.
- Autistic people continue to be over-represented in in-patient units, hospitals and large institutional, residential or secure settings. Better access to earlier mental health support in the community and support for families could significantly reduce these numbers alongside the cost to the taxpayer. The unit cost of a hospital admission is far more expensive than community based outpatient mental health support.
“We aren’t commissioned to provide mental health support services to autistic people, but we have so many autistic and neurodivergent young people that are now being referred. What we need is a clear autism and mental health pathway so we can get on with providing early support and make the adjustments that would be most helpful to our clients.”
(CAMHS Practitioner)
What the Evidence Base and Lived Experience Highlight
Research and lived experience show that autistic and neurodivergent people experience significantly higher levels of mental health difficulty, often linked to delayed support, lack of adjustments and limited autism-informed understanding. This evidence highlights why earlier intervention and consistent mental health awareness course provision across services matters.
- Autistic people report higher rates of co-occurring mental health conditions when compared to their neurotypical peers.
- Research indicates that up to 76% of autistic people experience poor mental health in their lifetime, with 40% experiencing more than one mental health condition.
- More recent research into the types of mental health conditions experienced by autistic and neurodivergent people shows that 84% report high anxiety, 35% of those with Anorexia Nervosa meet the autism criteria, 37% experience OCD with 66% reporting that they have considered suicide (compared to 17% of the population).
- Autistic people are more likely to experience trauma in their lifetime due to lack of access to adjustments or early support. Undiagnosed autistic girls and women are at increased risk of sexual assault, grooming and interpersonal abuse.
- Undiagnosed and diagnosed autistic people may use masking and camouflaging to cope with differences in communication, information processing and thinking styles and to feel more accepted by their peers. Autistic people often report feeling left out, misunderstood or bullied in school, university, employment and social settings.
- Autistic people have said they do want to work but often don’t get past recruitment processes due to lack of awareness, training or adjustments.
- Many autistic people report seeking acceptance in on-line communities where they may be vulnerable and exposed to abuse or extreme views. Some of these may lead to increased risk of suicide and lack of safety.
- Families of autistic and neurodivergent children, young people and adults are often the main source of support, when there is limited access to mental health services. Having access to training and resources at NCAMH has been described as a lifeline.
- Schools are often described as difficult spaces. Parents are driven to seeking out an autism diagnosis to gain access to the types of neuro-affirmative adjustments that might enable them to remain in education via an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). The EHCP process is described as traumatic. If schools made those adjustments automatically perhaps the pressure to seek a diagnosis for an EHCP would reduce? How can schools be supported to mainstream adjustments that make school a safe place for all children and young people?
“I wish that I had earlier access to the right support. So many of the services I’ve been referred to don’t know how to support me. I’m on a wait list for specialist mental health services, don’t know when I will be seen. Hospitals are not a safe place for me because of my sensory support needs, I felt like killing myself last time I was there. Why can’t there be more trained staff in the community? I’m still waiting, my family are supporting me as best they can.”
(Autistic female, aged 22).
The Importance of Early Intervention and Adjustments
Early intervention and timely adjustments are central to improving mental health outcomes for autistic and neurodivergent people. Evidence from services, families and lived experience consistently shows that when support is delayed, unclear or poorly matched to need, distress often escalates rather than resolves. This is particularly significant for autistic people, whose mental health needs may present differently and whose access to support is often shaped by whether adjustments are made early on.
Early intervention for autistic people usually means making engagement easier before a crisis develops. In practice, that often starts with adjustments: ask about sensory triggers, preferred communication (spoken, written, visual), and pacing; offer predictable appointment structure; and agree how to signal distress or overwhelm.
If services wait for a formal diagnosis before offering these basics, people can disengage or deteriorate. A useful rule is: provide reasonable adjustments based on need, while assessment/diagnosis runs in parallel.
In many services, early contact relies on general mental health frameworks that assume typical communication styles, sensory tolerance and emotional expression. Where autism-informed understanding is limited, signs of distress may be missed, misunderstood or attributed solely to behaviour, risk or non-engagement. Embedding autism-informed knowledge earlier in pathways, for example through consistent mental health awareness course provision across frontline services, can support professionals to recognise need sooner and respond more appropriately.
Adjustments play a critical role at this stage. Small, practical changes to communication, environment, pace or expectations can significantly improve engagement and reduce anxiety, particularly before difficulties escalate to crisis. When adjustments are not offered early, autistic people may disengage from services altogether, be discharged due to perceived non-attendance, or deteriorate to the point where only crisis or inpatient support is available.
Access to targeted learning, such as an understanding autism course, can support professionals to identify when early signs of mental health difficulty are emerging and how autism may shape that presentation. This enables services to intervene sooner, tailor support more effectively, and reduce reliance on diagnosis as the sole gateway to help. For families, earlier intervention can also reduce the burden of advocacy and the need to manage distress without professional support.
The Wider Debate and the Need for Autism Courses in Mental Health
Public discussion plays an important role in shaping how mental health, ADHD and autism are understood, both within services and in wider society. Recent media coverage reflects many of the same concerns raised through the Government’s Mental Health Review, including rising demand for services, questions around diagnosis, and whether current mental health pathways are meeting the needs of autistic and neurodivergent people. This wider debate highlights how these issues extend beyond policy discussions and into public understanding and lived experience.
If you want to engage with the review’s themes as a practitioner or service lead, map your local pathway against common pinch points: referral criteria, diagnosis as a gate, adjustments at first contact, and what happens after discharge. Then identify one “quick win” adjustment and one training gap to address.
For families, it can help to ask services directly what adjustments they can offer now (communication, environment, appointment format) and what the expected pathway is while specialist input is pending.
FAQ
Q: Why is the government reviewing autism and mental health services?
A: The government is reviewing autism and mental health services in response to growing concern about rising demand, increasing waiting times, and whether current systems are meeting need. More people are seeking support for mental health, ADHD and autism, placing sustained pressure on services across health, education and social care.
The review is intended to examine why demand has increased, how people currently access support, and whether existing pathways and interventions are appropriate and effective. This includes looking at the role of diagnosis in accessing help, the availability of early intervention, and how services respond to autistic and neurodivergent presentation within mental health settings.
Q: What is the frequency of autism and mental health reviews?
A: There is no fixed or routine schedule for government reviews into autism and mental health. These reviews are typically commissioned in response to emerging concerns, such as rising demand for services, changes in evidence, or identified gaps in provision, rather than taking place at regular intervals.
Broader mental health reviews may occur periodically as part of wider health or policy reform, while autism-specific or neurodivergence-focused reviews tend to be more targeted and time-limited. Their timing is usually influenced by service pressures, research findings, and feedback from professionals, families and people with lived experience.
Q: Will their review change anything about our autism courses?
A: The Government’s Mental Health Review will not directly change the content or delivery of existing autism courses. However, the review may influence the wider context in which autism and mental health training sits, particularly around commissioning, workforce development and expectations of practice across services.
Q: What is the Government’s Mental Health Review looking at?
A: It is examining demand, access routes, and whether current mental health, ADHD and autism pathways and interventions are appropriate and effective.
Q: Who is leading the review?
A: The review is led by Professor Peter Fonagy, with input from an advisory working group including clinicians, academics, charities and lived experience.
Q: When will the review publish findings?
A: The terms of reference indicate findings are due in summer 2026, feeding into the Government’s wider 10 Year Health Plan.
Q: Will you need an autism or ADHD diagnosis to get mental health support?
A: The review is considering the role diagnosis plays in accessing help. In practice, many services can still make reasonable adjustments based on need while assessment is ongoing.
Q: What kinds of barriers do autistic people face in mental health services?
A: Common barriers include sensory overload, communication mismatch, unclear pathways, and staff confidence with neurodivergent presentation.
Q: What does “autism-informed” mental health care mean?
A: It means adapting assessment and support to how autism can affect communication note, sensory processing, and stress responses—alongside offering practical adjustments from first contact.
Q: What could improve outcomes most quickly while longer-term policy changes are developed?
A: Consistent early adjustments, clearer referral pathways, and workforce training that builds confidence in supporting neurodivergent people in mainstream mental health services.
Q: How might the review affect families and carers?
A: If it leads to clearer commissioning and more autism-informed practice, families may face less advocacy burden and see earlier community-based support options.