A government-commissioned review warns that ADHD and autism are being both missed and overdiagnosed, urging schools and services to provide needs-based support while people await high-quality assessments.
A major UK government-commissioned review has warned that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism are both at risk of being missed and of being overdiagnosed, underlining growing concern about how the system identifies and supports people with neurodevelopmental conditions. According to the report, the presence of traits linked to ADHD or autism does not, on its own, mean a person meets the clinical threshold for diagnosis.
The independent review, published by the government on 9 October 2026, says the current approach is placing too much weight on formal diagnosis before help can begin. It argues that support in education, healthcare and social services should be guided more by a person’s actual needs, rather than by whether they have first secured a label. The review says that would help reduce the pressure created by long waits for assessment while still protecting the quality of diagnosis.
That recommendation comes as demand for assessment has climbed sharply in England, leaving many families facing lengthy delays. The review says those waits create a difficult trade-off: the need to avoid inaccurate diagnosis on one side, and the risk that children and adults will go without support for months or even years on the other. The Independent reported that in some cases help is effectively “locked behind waiting for a diagnosis”, reflecting the frustration felt by many patients and parents.
The government’s easy-read version of the report says the evidence points to several problems happening at the same time, including underdiagnosis, misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis. The review stresses that better assessments are still essential, but says they must be high quality, comprehensive and delivered in a timely way if they are to lead to the right support. That position is echoed in coverage by The BMJ, which noted that the report does not frame the issue as a simple rise or fall in diagnosis rates, but as a system struggling to match need with access.
For parents and caregivers, the message is likely to be twofold: a diagnosis remains important, but it should not be the only route to help. The review points towards a model in which schools, health services and local support teams respond earlier to practical difficulties, while specialist assessments are reserved and resourced for cases where they are most needed. In effect, the report calls for a shift away from a gatekeeping model and towards one that is more flexible, needs-based and quicker to act.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
