Autism support still 'not meeting needs'

Amy Ford said the service was "aware that the offer post-diagnostic is not meeting everybody's needs"

Guernsey's Autism Diagnostic Service still has a "long way to go" to providing the right support for autistic children, its clinical lead has said.

Amy Ford said the service was "aware that the offer post-diagnostic is not meeting everybody's needs".

Health and Social Care announced in March it was bringing in UK-based company Piscon to undertake additional assessments over a six-month period.

The service said about 165 children and young people were still waiting to be assessed, while in March the number was 250.

'Holistic offer'

It said providing more ongoing support was an area they were looking at developing with the island's mental health services and schools, as families continue to face long waitlists for autism assessments.

Ms Ford said there was more to support than just a diagnosis.

"We need to really be looking at a broader, more holistic offer that meets the needs of those young people individually and we know we've got a long way to go with that at the moment," she said.

Demand for assessments was still outstripping the capacity of the team, she said.

She added: "There's been an increase in referrals, so with current resources for the team, we are still seeing children and young people who were referred about 18 months ago."