Official Report search · Parliament Workbench

Committee

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee 20 January 2026 [Draft]

20 Jan 2026 · S6 · Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Item of business

Neurodivergence

Dr Boeing Watch on SPTV

It is a fascinating question, and people have very different feelings about it. We must be sensitive to what an individual wants or needs, because this is all part of their story and identity. It is not for us to ordain somebody with a diagnosis. There should be a collaborative process, with decisions being shared. Together, we should create that story as we listen and inquire. That should be at the heart of the process.However, the reality is that things have been very process driven and there have been bottlenecks in getting a diagnosis, so there is absolutely no way that we will be able to use diagnoses to address the current waiting list. More than 40,000 children are waiting for some form of neurodevelopmental assessment, and I suspect that that is just the tip of the iceberg, given the issue with underrecording in the data collection systems.It is more important that children have their needs met when they have a need. Those needs will change over time, because, by definition, children change as they grow and develop. Expectations of them change, grow and develop over time, and they get much more sensitive to what other people around them are doing. They might be completely dependent on their carers, but they are obligated to go to school or access education. Therefore, those children’s lives are different.For example, a kid who has a communication disorder will have issues with understanding language, which is a crucial interface with the world. If those issues are not understood early, people will keep talking at that kid, expecting them to answer, so they will become more and more stressed and overwhelmed. It is crucial that those issues are recognised and that someone with specialist expertise helps that kid and the people around them to understand. The communication around that kid should be adapted to help them to cope with, enjoy and thrive in their environment.09:45If children can access that kind of understanding as they go along, that will translate into three key transitions as they go through nursery, primary school, high school and college. If their profile and neurotype are understood and people around them get them, life will go better, because they can thrive and grow as they develop. That should be the case whether or not it leads, at some point, to a diagnosis.The two big diagnoses that we talk about a lot are autism and ADHD, but there are lots of different neurodevelopmental conditions and profiles. It is more about having a good understanding of the child. If a child has had that recognition, had their needs met and been understood as they go along—for example, they are making it into school with adaptations, or people know to use visuals instead of tonnes of words—and therefore are not, we hope, suffering the sequelae of not being understood, that means that when it comes to whatever point in their life that a diagnostic assessment might be helpful, it is much easier and less time-consuming for the people who do the diagnostic assessment.We would advocate for pathways for assessment that build on themselves. Sometimes, if we really, really know the kids, we might be able to do quite an abbreviated, quick diagnostic assessment, confirming what everybody knows. I would have the families right at the heart of this, as well. Sometimes, undoubtedly, it is incredibly complicated. I am dazzled every day by the complexity of some of the children who I work with, so there is a place for detailed, complex and on-going assessments as we try to understand some children. It is a process, but we need to make sure that they get what they need as they go along, because it will change over time.

Search Hansard contributions

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee 20 January 2026 [Draft]

In the same item of business