Britain risks damaging a generation of children through the over-diagnosis of ADHD and autism, a major review has warned.
The report found that some schools and welfare systems are creating incentives for parents to seek diagnoses by rewarding children who receive such labels.
Social media has also played a role, with posts sometimes portraying ordinary childhood traits as signs of ADHD or autism.
There were warnings that children could become defined by these characterisations, potentially setting them on a path towards long-term benefit dependence and unemployment.
Autism diagnosis rates have risen by as much as 40 times in recent years. However, the Government-commissioned review found no evidence that the number of autistic children has increased by the same degree.
Clinical psychologist Professor Peter Fonagy questioned the ‘consistency and quality’ of ADHD and autism assessments provided by private companies. Their numbers have surged as the NHS struggles to meet growing demand.
Private providers now carry out more than half of NHS-funded ADHD assessments and one in three autism assessments. Yet the firms face limited regulation and can market their services directly to prospective customers, while the NHS often bears the rapidly rising cost.
Britain risks harming a generation of children by over-diagnosing ADHD and autism, a major review warns today (stock photo)
A survey of GPs published last month found that many doctors had never known a private provider to turn down a request for a diagnosis.
Professor Fonagy described misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis as ‘harmful’. They can result in unnecessary or unsuitable treatment, delay support for other problems and reduce expectations of what children may be capable of achieving.
According to the report, children diagnosed with ADHD before the age of 17 are about four times less likely to be in education, employment or training during early adulthood. Each young person in this position is estimated to cost taxpayers £244,000 over their lifetime.
Tory work and pensions spokesman Helen Whately said: ‘Too many people are defined by their diagnosis, not by what they can achieve – and it’s starting younger.
‘Children are told something is ‘wrong’ with them, put on disability living allowance then move straight on to personal independence payments. All they ever hear is what they can’t do.
‘Sickness benefit claims have doubled since 2019, but the country isn’t twice as sick. Many of the conditions are real – but they are not reasons to not work.
‘Parking people on benefits isn’t kind or compassionate.’
Professor Sir Simon Wessely, the review’s vice-chairman, said a diagnosis could ‘close doors’ by defining people through ‘their difficulties – not their strengths, circumstances, and potentials’.
Professor Fonagy concluded that the existing model of care is failing patients and needs ‘radical reform’.
Pictured: Tory work and pensions spokeswoman Helen Whately
He said children with the most serious mental health problems are facing unacceptably long waits for treatment because the ‘first come, first served’ system has been overwhelmed by demand for ADHD and autism assessments.
The review recommends replacing the current ‘diagnosis-dependent’ approach with a system based on individual needs. Under that model, children could receive practical assistance and additional support at school while assessments are under way, rather than having to wait for a formal diagnosis before help begins.
It says private providers should be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and banned from advertising to the public.
The review says the rise in autism and ADHD diagnoses cannot be explained by once overlooked children coming forward for assessments.
It warns: ‘If present trends continue, we are clearly entering a phase in which the balance of risks is changing from… concerns with under-recognition and underdiagnosis towards an increased risk of misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis, which are becoming increasingly important considerations for policy and service delivery.’
Recorded autism prevalence among those aged six to 11 has risen more than 20-fold, from 0.24 per cent in 2000 to 4.58 per cent in 2025. For those aged 12 to 17 it has risen more than 40-fold, from 0.10 per cent to 4.06 per cent.
However, the best available estimate for autism among young people remains at around 1.2 per cent.
For autism, the review says the increase is likely due to ‘changes in recognition, recording, diagnostic concepts, help-seeking and access rather than a clear increase in underlying population prevalence’.
Monthly referrals for ADHD assessments have more than tripled, from around 5,000 in 2019 to around 17,000 in 2024.
By the end of 2025, open referrals exceeded 560,000, more than 17 times the number recorded in 2019.
There is no biological test to establish whether someone has ADHD or autism. Instead, a diagnosis is based on an assessment of the person’s difficulties, developmental history and degree of functional impairment.
Professor Fonagy believes young people are growing up under intense pressure, adding: ‘Life has become harder since I was a young man.
‘The cacophony of voices now available to a young person – most of them digital, many of them confident, few of them accountable – has made the ordinary developmental process of understanding oneself far harder than it was for me. Young people… are not fragile. They are outnumbered.’
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged last night to strengthen the oversight of mental health services.
She said: ‘We will… make all diagnostic assessments for ADHD and autism CQC-regulated so people can be confident that assessments are high quality and the NHS is not being overcharged by private providers.’
