Britain risks harming a generation of children by over-diagnosing ADHD and autism, a major review warns today.
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review → risk → ADHD
Parents are incentivised to have their children diagnosed by misguided schools and welfare systems that reward such 'labels', the report found.
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report → incentivise → labels
Youngsters have also been influenced by social media posts that wrongly present common traits as evidence of the conditions.
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that → influence → conditions
There were warnings last night that children could be defined by such characterisations, steering them towards a life of benefits and unemployment.
Autism diagnosis rates have soared by up to 40-fold in recent years, but the Government-commissioned review found no evidence that the number of autistic children has actually increased.
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number → be → children
Clinical psychologist Professor Peter Fonagy raised concerns about the 'consistency and quality' of ADHD and autism assessments carried out by private providers, whose numbers have rocketed as the NHS struggles to cope with demand.
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NHS → raise → demand
Private firms now conduct more than half of NHS-funded ADHD assessments and a third of autism ones, but they are poorly regulated and are allowed to advertise their services directly to potential customers, with the NHS often picking up the ballooning bill.
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NHS → conduct → bill
Britain risks harming a generation of children by over-diagnosing ADHD and autism, a major review warns today (stock photo)
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review → risk → ADHD
Last month, a survey of GPs said many had never known a private provider to reject a diagnosis request.
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provider → say → request
Professor Fonagy calls misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis 'harmful' because they may lead to unnecessary or inappropriate treatment, delay appropriate support for other issues and lower expectations of what children can achieve.
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children → call → what
His report notes that children diagnosed with ADHD before 17 are around four times less likely to be in education, employment or training in early adulthood, with each youngster in this situation costing taxpayers £244,000 over their lifetime.
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youngster → note → lifetime
Tory work and pensions spokesman Helen Whately said: 'Too many people are defined by their diagnosis, not by what they can achieve – and it's starting younger.
'
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it → say → what
Children are told something is 'wrong' with them, put on disability living allowance then move straight on to personal independence payments.
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something → tell → payments
All they ever hear is what they can't do.
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they → hear → what
'Sickness benefit claims have doubled since 2019, but the country isn't twice as sick.
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country → double → 2019
Many of the conditions are real – but they are not reasons to not work.
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they → work → conditions
'Parking people on benefits isn't kind or compassionate.'
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Parking → park → benefits
Professor Sir Simon Wessely, vice-chairman of the review, warned a diagnosis could 'close doors' and 'define you by your difficulties – not your strengths, circumstances, and potentials'.
Professor Fonagy concludes that the current model of care fails patients and requires 'radical reform'.
Pictured: Tory work and pensions spokeswoman Helen Whately
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model → warn → Whately
Children with the most serious mental health issues face unacceptably long waits for care, he said, because the 'first come, first served' system is overwhelmed by soaring demand for ADHD and autism assessment.
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system → face → assessment
The report calls for Britain to move from a 'diagnosis-dependent' system to one based on an individual's needs so children can receive practical help and extra support at school while assessment continues rather than waiting for a diagnosis first.
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assessment → call → diagnosis
It says private providers should be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and banned from advertising to the public.
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providers → say → public
The review says the rise in autism and ADHD diagnoses cannot be explained by once overlooked children coming forward for assessments.
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children → say → assessments
It warns: 'If present trends continue, we are clearly entering a phase in which the balance of risks is changing from... concerns with under-recognition and underdiagnosis towards an increased risk of misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis, which are becoming increasingly important considerations for policy and service delivery.'
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which → warn → policy
Recorded autism prevalence among those aged six to 11 has risen more than 20-fold, from 0.24 per cent in 2000 to 4.58 per cent in 2025.
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prevalence → record → 2025
For those aged 12 to 17 it has risen more than 40-fold, from 0.10 per cent to 4.06 per cent.
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it → age → cent
However, the best available estimate for autism among young people remains at around 1.2 per cent.
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estimate → remain → cent
For autism, the review says the increase is likely due to 'changes in recognition, recording, diagnostic concepts, help-seeking and access rather than a clear increase in underlying population prevalence'.
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increase → say → prevalence
Monthly referrals for ADHD assessments have more than tripled, from around 5,000 in 2019 to around 17,000 in 2024.
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referrals → triple → 2024
By the end of 2025, open referrals exceeded 560,000, more than 17 times the number recorded in 2019.
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referrals → exceed → 2019
There is no biological test to establish whether someone has ADHD or autism.
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someone → be → ADHD
Instead, a diagnosis is based on an assessment of the person's difficulties, developmental history and degree of functional impairment.
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diagnosis → base → impairment
Professor Fonagy believes young people are growing up under intense pressure, adding: 'Life has become harder since I was a young man.
'
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I → believe → pressure
The cacophony of voices now available to a young person – most of them digital, many of them confident, few of them accountable – has made the ordinary developmental process of understanding oneself far harder than it was for me.
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it → make → me
They are outnumbered.
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They → outnumber → ?
'
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged last night to strengthen the oversight of mental health services.
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Cooper → pledge → services
She said: 'We will... make all diagnostic assessments for ADHD and autism CQC-regulated so people can be confident that assessments are high quality and the NHS is not being overcharged by private providers.'
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NHS → say → providers
The Aporia
