Access to services for autistic people across Europe.
Siti Nurnadhirah Binte Mohd Ikhsan, Rosemary Holt, Joyce Man and 12 others
PMID 40517258WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic people in Europe reported failed attempts to access therapy, mental health and autism diagnostic services, and most formally diagnosed participants had waited at least a month for diagnosis.
Children and female participants faced more barriers for some services.
Key findings
01Within 2 years before survey completion, therapy was the service with the most reported unsuccessful attempts (13.53%; n = 249), followed by mental health (11.90%; n = 219).
02Most formally diagnosed participants had waited for an autism diagnosis for a month or longer (93.25%; n = 1783), and 37.03% (n = 708) had waited over 12 months.
03Among people who accessed speech and language therapy, 66.16% (n = 172) waited a month or more, and among those who accessed occupational therapy, 68.59% (n = 131) waited a month or more.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The survey was voluntary and online, and recruitment used networks and websites, so respondents were self-selected. Some countries and languages were underrepresented, so the sample did not fully reflect the EU and UK. The main analysis used 2322 formally diagnosed participants, while 2527 total included self-diagnosed or awaiting diagnosis, so these percentages describe respondents, not all autistic people in Europe. Carers completed 57.80% of responses, and their reports may not match the autistic person's own experience. Data were collected from May 2020 to May 2022, during COVID-19, and may not reflect current service availability or policies. Waiting time categories were broad, with the shortest option being less than one month, which may miss delays for urgent services. Multiple comparisons were not adjusted, and many subgroup tests were limited by small expected counts, so some age, gender and country differences should be treated cautiously. Important factors such as socioeconomic status, support needs and autism severity were not measured. Open-text answers were translated with online tools and reclassified by researchers, which may have changed meaning. Participants could report both successful and unsuccessful access to the same service, so access percentages are not direct opposites.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the percentage who accessed a service as the opposite of the percentage who failed to access it. A participant could have received one therapy and failed to get another, or could have had no need for a service. The clearer barrier signal is unsuccessful access, because those participants had tried and failed.