Free autism diagnosis

The private, online psychiatry services listed below 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.

Psychiatry UK

Clinical Partners

Skylight Psychiatry

Axia

Oakdale Group

Problem Shared

Solutions 4 Diagnostics

Private diagnosis

Psychiatry UK (see above) charges £900 for private adult diagnosis. The Adult Autism Practice (link below), which is based in Ireland but works online across the whole of the UK, charges £940 and offers payment plans. Fees for other private providers can range from around £2,000 to £3,000. At Clinical Partners (above) adult autism assessment costs £2,250. (Prices checked in July 2024.)

The Adult Autism Practice

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. There’s also an Autistica Tips Hub app to download with tips from autistic people, research and resources covering everyday life, mental health and wellbeing.

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.

Courses

If you want to unmask but are unsure how to go about it, Unmasking: Finding Safety, Self and Strength, a short, pay-what-you-can course from Neurolearn is well worth a look. It explores what masking is, why we do it, the hidden costs, and suggests ways to reconnect with and embrace your authentic self.

Podcasts

Inside an Autistic Mind is a one-off broadcast by former BBC science correspondent Sue Nelson, who was diagnosed at the age of 60. As she learns more about her condition, she offers a fascinating glimpse of what it’s really like to be autistic.

The Late Discovered Club, hosted by psychotherapist Catherine Asta, is ranked by Feedspot as the world’s number one female autism podcast. It provides a platform for late-discovered autistic people from all walks of life to share stories and insights.

The Square Peg Autistic women and non-binary people describe their experiences of navigating education, work, relationships and life in general with late-diagnosed host Amy Richards.

ADHD Chatter It’s thought that up to 70 per cent of autistic people also have ADHD. Hosted by the engaging Alex Partridge, there’s a chatty new episode every Tuesday.  

The Blindboy Podcast Sweary and off-the-wall, this autistic eccentric, who wears a mask made from a plastic bag, shares his thoughts on everything from the history of the pumpkin spiced latte to the importance of good waterproofs when cycling.

The Hidden 20% A weekly podcast featuring neurodivergent guests chatting to autistic/ADHD entrepreneur Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip drinks, about the positives and challenges of thinking differently.

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.