South Yorkshire children wait '3 years longer' for autism diagnosis than kids down south
Parents in the region it's not good enough & want to see a more equal share of NHS England funding
Last updated 18th Sep 2025
There's concern 'little has changed' over the years - when it comes to getting an autism diagnosis in South Yorkshire.
A new report by NHS England suggests it takes around 3 years longer to get an assessment up north - compared to down some areas down south.
Children in Mid and South Essex are waiting on average 54 days for an assessment – falling within National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines of 13 weeks.
Sheffield mum Jennifer Jones' autistic son is now 14 years old - but he was on the waiting list until he was diagnosed at the age of 6:
"My son had 18 fixed term exclusions before the age of 6 - prior to his diagnosis.
"Without a diagnosis, he wasn't afforded the leniency, or extra support he needed.
"There were some days that I would get a call from school at 9.10am telling me to come and collect my son because he was out of control.
"So, it absolutely breaks my heart that 8 years later we're still looking at the same problems."
Published earlier this month by the Child of the North initiative, the data also shows:
-Only 4.5% of under 18s with an autism referral had received an appointment within the recommended 13 weeks across the whole of England
-Girls of Pakistani heritage are 11 times less likely to receive an autism diagnosis than White British heritage boys
-The number of referrals for an ADHD assessment has increased by over 22% from June 2024 to 2025