Neurodiversity

Usually yes — most NHS assessment pathways ask for a referral from your GP or another professional involved in your care. A minority of autism services accept self-referral, and where a service's own pages confirm that, its listing here says so. Private providers accept patients directly.

In England, when a GP refers you for an ADHD or autism assessment you can ask for that referral to go to any provider holding an NHS contract for it — often with a much shorter wait than the local NHS pathway. Ask your GP to refer you under Right to Choose, and see our Right to Choose guides and checkers for how it works.

They vary a lot by area — from months to several years. Where a local NHS pathway publishes a waiting time on an official page, we show it on its listing with the source. Where nothing is published, we say nothing rather than guess.

Many NHS pathways assess children and young people, but often through a separate route from adults (commonly via school or a paediatrician). Use the Adults/Children filter to see services confirmed for each group — services whose age range we can't confirm are not shown under those filters.

An NHS assessment is free but usually involves a referral and a wait; a private assessment is paid but typically starts within weeks and you choose the provider. A private diagnosis is real and valid — though if you want NHS prescribing afterwards, shared-care arrangements vary, so it's worth asking the provider before you book.