‘Sustained increasein autism referrals’

There were also 41 adults on the waiting list for assessment for autism at the start of March, the Sentinel can reveal. Incredibly, 12 of these adults have been on the waiting list since last June.

But the Western Trust has also revealed that it is currently taking forward plans to develop diagnostic services for adults that may have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in keeping with an Adult ASD pathway, which was launched on June 21, 2012.

The local health authority claims it is not in breach of Regional Autistic Spectrum Disorder Network’s (RASDN) guidelines despite the fact that no adults have been assessed or diagnosed with ASD in the Trust since the launch of the Adult Care Pathway.

The Trust says: “As of March 1, 2013, RASDN has not stipulated any obligations in relation to Adult ASD Care Pathway.

“The Adult ASD care pathway states that ‘Trusts must endeavour to take initial steps towards implementation’ of the pathway.”

The Sentinel reveals the lack of assessments for adults as Derry City Council’s office is floodlit blue to mark this autism awareness month.

Although the Trust has not yet put in place a service to diagnose adults with suspected autism it does have services in place for children.

The Trust stated: “ASD Diagnostic Services for children up to 18 years is provided across the WHSCT in keeping with RASDN ‘Six Steps of Autism Care.’

“The WHSCT ASD Service multidisciplinary assessment team includes Clinical Psychology, Community Paediatrics, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Autism Practitioner and Specialist Health Visitors.”

Despite this waiting lists in the Trust have spiked.

“Within the WHSCT ASD Service on average the waiting time for commencement of assessment is within the 13 week target, however due to a sustained increase in referrals received in early 2013 we are currently assessing at 15 weeks,” the Trust confirmed.

In terms of numbers no adults have yet been diagnosed or assessed and there were 41 adult patients on the waiting list for assessment at the start of March.

But since October 1, 2011, there were 164 children diagnosed with ASD; 92 confirmed as not having ASD and 59 children who required further assessment or review before a decision around a diagnosis could be reached.

The Trust stated that: “There are currently 75 children on the waiting list for assessment as at March 1, 2013.”

It also revealed that 428 children have been on the assessment waiting list since the Six Steps Pathway was launched in October 2011.

There have also been 12 adults on the assessment waiting list since the Adult ASD pathway launched in June 2012.

The Sentinel reveals the backlog as Mayor of Londonderry Kevin Campbell says the lighting up of the local Council offices blue will raise awareness of the many support groups that do “such wonderful work in helping and supporting families in the city and surrounding areas.”

“I hope that during this month it will help people to have a better understanding of what Autism means and provide an opportunity to raise much needed funds for the Autism NI charity,” he stated.

Autism NI’s Chief Executive, Arlene Cassidy said: ‘We are very grateful that Derry City Council has chosen to support World Autism Awareness Day.

“It is vital that awareness is raised throughout Northern Ireland in relation to Autism, especially within the local community as there is still a lot of misunderstanding and ignorance in relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder.”