NEARLY 250 children in York have been left facing lengthy delays to be assessed for autism.

A national charity has warned families could be left at breaking point as it emerged the wait from referral to a first appointment is nine months for children to be assessed for autism in York.

The latest figures showed there were 243 referrals in the first ten months of 2017/18, with children having to wait an average of nine months from GP referral to being seen. Families have expressed “great concern” about delays.

National guidelines say children should not wait longer than three months.

Tim Nicholls, policy manager at the National Autistic Society, said: “Many autistic people and parents describe their own or their child’s diagnosis as life changing. It can explain why someone has always felt different, give a parent a better understanding of their child and help unlock barriers to vital support.

“Yet, people are having to wait far too long in many areas, including in York, where we understand that school age children are waiting an average of 36 weeks. This is unacceptable.

“Long waits can be traumatic for autistic people and their families who are already under great strain trying to hold things together without the right support. They are desperate for help and, in many cases, close to breaking point.

“At the National Autistic Society, we are running our autism diagnosis crisis campaign to draw attention to the impact of long diagnosis waits.”

Documents presented to the York Clinical Commissioning Group show significantly more children were referred for assessment by GPs in 2017/18 than the year before.

Delays can mean families wait longer for specialist support in school and other places.

The problem with waiting times has been compounded by a more complex diagnostic procedure. However, an action plan has been drawn up to address waiting lists, the report notes.

Carol Redmond, head of service for child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) in York, said: “There has been an increase in CAMHS referrals for autism assessments and this has inevitably impacted on waiting times. However we have worked with The Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to address this and to take action to reduce waiting times.

“We were allocated funds from the Vale of York CCG earlier this year to allow us to use external assessors to help reduce the waiting lists and we are redesigning the way our autism assessment clinics operate and training more staff to carry our autism assessments, all of which should help us reduce waiting times and ensure that young people are seen quicker.”

Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them.

Research suggests that, on average, children wait over three-and-a-half years and adults around two years for a diagnosis after first raising concerns with professionals, the National Autistic Society said.