Posted on: 13 November 2023
From Monday 13 November, a new Adult Autism Diagnostic Service will be launched in Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon.
The service will offer high-quality and comprehensive autism diagnostic services for adults aged 18 years and over, who are registered with a GP, in these boroughs. It will also provide:
- Pre- and post-diagnostic support
- Advice and signposting for individuals, and their carers and families
- Consultations and support for other teams working with autistic people
The Adult Autism Diagnostic Service has been designed to reduce waiting times and the backlog of people waiting for assessments.
This service enables staff to support, and work with, autistic communities across CNWL services. This can help raise awareness around autism and increase the confidence with which services meet the needs of autistic people..
As the service ramps up over the coming year, people will see a much more defined and clear process for autism diagnosis. We will work with third sector partners to create an offer that promotes ‘waiting well’, supporting people with services beyond CNWL in local communities. A Peer Support worker and Social Prescribing will be embedded into the service as a key part of its development.
Matthew Henshaw, CNWL Lead for Neurodiversity, says: “Over the past 12 Months, CNWL has made a commitment to improve access to services for our Autistic communities. As we look to 2024, and the roll-out of our service, our program will support staff to better understand Autism and the ways we might adapt services. We can, in partnership, lead the way in our thinking about how we deliver services in these communities.”