Resources and research

Free autism diagnosis

These private, online psychiatry services hold NHS contacts to provide free autism diagnosis to adults registered with a GP in England, via the right-to-choose (RTC) pathway, without the need to go on an NHS waiting list. Find out more.

Unfortunately, due to an explosion in demand, Psychiatry UK has temporarily stopped taking new RTC autism referrals. Hopefully, they will restart soon. Check here for updates.

Private diagnosis

The Adult Autism Practice

Although based in Ireland, this provider works online across the whole of the UK and currently (July 2023) charges 850 euros, which is around £730. Psychiatry UK (see above) charges £900 for private adult diagnosis. Fees for other private providers can range from £2,000 to £3,000. At Clinical Partners (above) it costs £2,250.

Resources

The National Autistic Society

This leading charity offers advice, information, training and support to autistic people and their families.

The National Health Service

The NHS website provides information on autism and getting a diagnosis, which now takes between two and four years in many areas. What it won’t tell you is that you don’t have to wait that long. If you live in England, you have a legal right to be referred by your GP for private diagnosis paid for by the NHS (see Free diagnosis, above).

Autistica

The UK’s leading autism research charity is a good source of information about autism and co-occurring conditions.

Facebook

There are several autism groups on Facebook. The kindest and most supportive I’ve found is ‘Autistic Women UK – Late Diagnosed (40+)’. Others include ‘UK Autistic Women’s Support Group’ and ‘Adult ADHD/Autism Diagnosis – Right to Choose Support – in England’.

Neuroclastic

A comprehensive explanation of what ‘autistic spectrum’ actually means.

Embrace Autism

An information site compiled by two Canadian autistic women. Not everything applies to the UK but it’s still useful, particularly as it contains a comprehensive range of autism tests, including the CAT-Q, which measures masking.

Spectrum

A free online magazine for autism news and expert research.

Podcasts

I’m currently compiling a list of autism podcasts to recommend. If there are any you especially like, please let me know via the Contact page. At the moment, I’m enjoying Meet my Autistic Brain by my US Autistic Woman counterpart.

Research

Underdiagnosis in older adults

Researchers from University College London used the rate of autism diagnosis among ten-to-fourteen year olds in England (2.94 per cent) to calculate that there could be a staggering 1.2 million adults in the country with undiagnosed autism. That’s 1.4 million across the UK as a whole. Published in The Lancet, 26 June 2023.

The male-to-female autism ratio

This study of all individuals born in Norway between 1967 and 2011 found a male-to-female diagnosis ratio of 2.57 among adults. This compares to the UK’s clearly outdated NHS figure of ten males to every female. Published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 8 September 2021.

Autism and premature death

Researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet say autistic people’s risk of premature death is about 2.5 times higher than that of the general population, and autistics without intellectual disability have a particularly high risk of death by suicide. Published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, 11 November 2015.

Picture: Pawel Czerwinski.