Image of red and white paper cut outs labelled with the words autism and/or diagnosis

Accessing an autism diagnosis

Accessing an autism diagnosis is a key milestone for autistic people and their families. Yet, lengthy delays in receiving an autism diagnosis are commonly reported. This can be stressful for the person and their family, and is not helped by the lack of support offered post-diagnosis. Led by Laura Crane, CRAE research has comprehensively assessed experiences of accessing an autism diagnosis in the UK (from the perspective of autistic people, their parents and the professionals who work with them), to identify what works well and areas in which improvements are needed. This work has been extended to explore GPs’ and Psychiatrists’ experience of working with their autistic patients.  

CRAE lead: Laura Crane

Implementation of annual health checks for autistic people

Autistic people, on average, have worse health outcomes than the general population. Annual health checks have been suggested as one way to improve health outcomes. We wanted to understand the barriers and facilitators involved in implementing annual health checks for autistic people so we could develop adequate support for primary health care professionals. We spoke to GPs, nurses and other primary health care professionals who are involved in the implementation of other health checks (e.g., learning disability health checks, diabetes annual reviews etc.) to take part in a short survey about their views.

CRAE Lead: Anna Remington, with Jade Davies, Katelyn Smalley and Laura Crane

Key publications: