Summary
- It is estimated that there are around:
- 7,200 autistic people and 22,500 people with ADHD living in Cambridgeshire.
- 2,350 autistic people and 7,550 people with ADHD living in Peterborough.
- Many people have multiple neurodevelopmental conditions, with the co-occurrence between autism and ADHD estimated to fall between 20 to 70% (Rosello et al., 2022).
- There have been a range of local reports involving people with lived experience, which show that autistic people and people with ADHD can face long waiting lists for diagnostic assessments, barriers to accessing mental healthcare and difficulties navigating health services.
- There are high rates of mental health conditions among autistic people and people with ADHD, including anxiety and depression, as well as eating disorders, self-harm and bipolar disorder (Katzman et al., 2017; Lai, 2023). These groups are also more likely to die by suicide, compared to their peers.
- Autistic people and people with ADHD are more likely to experience determinants of poor mental health, such as unemployment and homelessness, as well as facing stigma around autism/ADHD.
- Both nationally and in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, there is increasing demand for autism and ADHD assessment services across all age groups. On top of this, referrals to some services were paused at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to a substantial increase in waiting times for these services.
- National and local research shows that autistic people and people with ADHD report facing barriers to accessing mental health support (Price et al., 2020; Brede et al., 2022). Some autistic people and people with ADHD are unable to access effective mental healthcare, which can result in high levels of high levels of unmet mental health needs (Bitter et al., 2019; NHS England, 2023c).
- A survey of mental health services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough identified strengths and gaps in the provision of support for autistic people and people with ADHD, with the greatest areas for improvement identified as the physical environment of buildings, support for family and friends and cross-system working.
- Although we have limited data about how many autistic people and people with ADHD access mental health services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, literature suggests that these groups are overrepresented and make up a significant proportion of people currently using mental health services.