A new NHS report has uncovered that only 1 in 33 patients with potential autism in South Yorkshire had an appointment within the correct time frame.
The figures show that only 115 of 3,755 patients within the NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board with a referral of 13 weeks or more for suspected autism had an assessment within the correct time-period as of December 2024.
Liesje Dusauzay, the CEO of child autism charity Sparkle Sheffield said: “If the government did the right thing from the beginning we would not be here today.
“Long waiting times for diagnosis creates a lot of pressure for families. If you haven’t got a diagnosis, you don’t know where to go. There isn’t any support for the parents. There isn’t any support for the children.
At Sparkle Sheffield, Ms Dusauzay said they have seen an increase of 800% of patients, which puts a lot of pressure on them.
“We’re not even getting funding to support the parents that are coming through, so the literal resources that we do have, we try to stretch as much as we can.
“We can only do this for a short period of time. How do you sustain yourself as a charity when grants are also very hard to get?”
Nationally, less than five percent of the nearly 191,700 patients with a suspected autism referral that was 13 weeks or more had their first appointment within the correct time-frame.
The time-period of 13 weeks for first appointment and assessment after referral was set by the National institute of Health and Care Excellence.
The average waiting time for the first appointment across England was 357 days.
Ms Dusauzay said that Sparkle Sheffield offers support to parents of autistic children dealing with long diagnosis or appointment waits:
“We’ve got an advice drop-in that parents can go to. We also get professionals to come and talk to families online. Having parents hear from professionals who are autistic themselves really helps them.
“As for the children, they get to play with other children who are exactly like them.”
Ms Dusauzay has urged the government to use organisations around them like Sparkle Sheffield or Autism Hope.
She added: “If the government can’t do it, give more money to others who are already doing it correctly and on a tight budget.”
Sparkle Sheffield won the Queen’s award for Voluntary Service in 2021.