Mother's frustration over autism assessment fight

Catherine Flynn-Cartwright had to wait three years for an assessment for her son and has been told her daughter will have to wait four years

A mum has described the frustration of waiting for her children's autism assessments as "a fighting game".

Catherine Flynn-Cartwright, from Selby, has been told she will have to wait four years for an assessment for her daughter having previously waited three years for her son to be assessed.

According to the latest NHS data, North Yorkshire waiting times for assessments are at their highest in four years for adolescents.

The NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it was "actively pursuing various strategies to reduce wait times."

Ms Flynn-Cartwright said: "I can't do anything about it.

"Everything you do it's just a fighting game."

She said her son Jakob, now 12, was diagnosed with autism at five, having being first placed on a waiting list at two.

Her daughter began displaying some traits Ms Flynn-Cartwright associated with autism in 2020 at the age of seven.

"Eliana would make up tales, copy people, and wouldn’t retain what you said," Ms Flynn-Cartwright said.

She said her daughter could also not explain why she became upset or sad.

Ms Flynn-Cartwright hopes an autism diagnosis would help "give answers" to her daughter

After waiting two years, her daughter's first autism assessment took place online via Google Teams.

Ms Flynn-Cartwright said: “How you can assess a child over Teams for autism... still I don’t know.”

She wanted another test as she was unhappy with the result which suggested her daughter did not have autism.

"The problem with an autism assessment is that it is very male-based, and girls mask their autism so much," she said.

In December 2023, a doctor agreed to a fresh test but said it would mean waiting four years to get it.

“A diagnosis won’t change who she is, it will just give her answers," Ms Flynn-Cartwright said.

'Training shortages'

North Yorkshire has the 16th worst autism wait time across NHS England and waiting lists in the region are now at their highest in four years.

In March 2024, which is the latest month for which data is available, children aged up to 17 in the region had to wait on average 433 days for an assessment, according to NHS data.

The average wait time in the same month in England was 353 days.

Ms Flynn-Cartwright said the situation was "crazy" and felt sad the system was in such a state.

“It’s too late for us, we’re on the waiting list," she said.

"I’m fighting for the next generation too, these kids are our future."

In a statement, the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) were "driven by an increase in the number of individuals seeking assessments [and] shortages of trained professionals who can conduct autism assessments [which] has resulted in delays."

It said it had developed a programme to offer support to people awaiting assessments to "mitigate the impact" of delays.

"We are actively pursuing various strategies to reduce wait times, including efforts to recruit and train more professionals specialised in autism assessments."