Meeting of the Parliament 11 December 2025
I thank Daniel Johnson for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Working with other members across parties, Daniel Johnson has been a real champion in the Parliament for people with autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
The report adds to the growing body of evidence that change is needed to our approach to assessment, diagnosis and support for neurodivergence in Scotland. Members might be aware that, earlier this year, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee conducted an inquiry that gave people and families who have experienced neurodevelopmental services the opportunity to share those experiences and recommend changes to ensure that we can better serve our neurodiverse constituents. I look forward to the report being published. It was an important inquiry and many lessons were learned, so I hope that the report will reflect that and will be useful in adding to other on-going work in the area.
The royal college report rightly points out that, despite the dramatic rise in need, Scotland still lacks a dedicated and standardised pathway. It goes on to say that, in the absence of appropriate services, individuals are being referred into general adult mental health pathways, not because they have a mental illness but because there is no suitable alternative. The report points out that those services have never been designed to assess or support people with those conditions and they have just become a catch-all for those referrals.
That structural mismatch is now overwhelming the system. Waiting lists have grown to unmanageable levels. It is therefore important that issue is addressed.
I think that members will recognise what the report is saying, and I want to raise the voices of my constituents, because the frustration of people and families cannot be overstated.
Over the four years that I have been in Parliament—I have said this before—the most frequent requests that I have got in casework have often been very simple. Constituents ask, “Please can you help me understand?”, whether it is to do with waiting lists or service provision for people with autism, ADHD or neurodivergence. They ask, “Can you help me?” with primary school or secondary school, or as children move between primary, secondary and further education, when families often find themselves in conflict.