If you are seeking an autism or ADHD assessment for yourself or your child in the UK, you have three primary pathways: standard NHS care, NHS Right to Choose, and private assessment.

This guide explains how each route works, the key differences between them, and what to expect around waiting times and costs.

Understanding your assessment options

Standard NHS pathway: free at the point of care, but often has the longest waits.
NHS Right to Choose pathway: NHS-funded referral to an approved independent provider, where available.
Private assessment pathway: self-funded and typically the fastest route.

Route 1: Standard NHS pathway

How the Standard NHS pathway works

This route begins with an appointment with your GP. While completely free at the point of care, it currently has the longest waiting lists of all three pathways.

For children: The GP (or occasionally the school SENCO) refers the child to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) or a community paediatric team. These teams can often assess for ADHD, autism, or a dual diagnosis.

For adults: The GP must submit a referral to local specialist adult neurodevelopmental teams. Because adult ADHD and autism services are frequently run separately, you may require two distinct referrals if you are seeking a dual assessment.

Typical waiting times

Standard NHS care is free at the point of use, but referral volumes have created substantial backlogs in many areas.

For autism, NHS data shows that nearly 90% of the more than 290,000 people with an open referral have been waiting longer than NICE’s recommended 13-week target from referral to first appointment, with delays frequently stretching past a year.
ADHD services face even steeper backlogs: with over 660,000 patients waiting, average assessment timelines span 2 to 5 years, exceeding 7 years in severely constrained areas.

Actual waiting times vary by location and may exceed official estimates.

Route 2: NHS Right to Choose pathway

How the NHS Right to Choose pathway works

If you are registered with a GP in England, you have a legal right under the NHS Constitution to request a referral to an approved independent provider rather than your local NHS clinic.

This route is fully NHS-funded at zero personal cost. It is generally considerably faster than standard local NHS trust queues.

You can research a qualified independent clinic (such as Psychiatry-UK, Clinical Partners, ProblemShared, or The Owl Centre), and request a formal Right to Choose referral from your GP.

Typical waiting times

Where services are fully active, waiting times may be around 3–12 months.

However, availability, waiting times and post-diagnosis medication support can vary by provider and location. Some Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have introduced funding caps or pauses on new referrals, so check the current position with your GP and chosen provider.

Route 3: Private assessment pathway

How the Private assessment pathway works

Private assessment is usually the fastest route and does not require a GP referral. You can self-refer directly to a private clinic while remaining on an NHS or Right to Choose waiting list.

The process may include:

Comprehensive clinical interviews
Developmental questionnaires
Standardised diagnostic tools, where appropriate
A detailed diagnostic report

Examples of tools may include ADOS-2 for autism or QbTest for ADHD.

Typical waiting times

Private assessment availability varies by provider, but appointments are often available more quickly than through NHS or Right to Choose routes.

Our Private assessment partner: Dr Julian Medical Group

Dr Julian Medical Group is a CQC-registered provider supporting families and individuals with assessments for children aged 12+ and adults, alongside follow-on therapy and post-diagnostic support.

Founded by NHS GP Dr Julian Nesbitt, the group works with a network of more than 400 accredited clinicians and can typically offer private ADHD assessments within two weeks.

If you follow the relevant links below to sign up, a member of their onboarding team will contact you to discuss your options:

Assessments for children (ages 12–16)

Assessments for adults (ages 17+)