// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
Autism, ADHD and mental health review: What you need to know
The review looks at NHS waiting times and whether young people are being over-diagnosed.
It has been called a "generational opportunity" to rethink support for both mental health conditions and ADHD and autism.
The review, commissioned by then-health secretary Wes Streeting 10 months ago after saying young people were being "over-diagnosed" and "written off", could have major implications for NHS services, the benefits system, schools and employment support.
Its 600-plus pages, external contain a host of conclusions and recommendations. Here are the key takeaways.
The report is clear that there is an increasing risk of over-diagnosis, but only when it comes to ADHD and autism.
Experts said a rise in diagnoses over the past 25 years meant cases now appear to be outstripping the expected number in the population for some younger age groups.
They gave the example of children aged six to 17 – more than 4% have been diagnosed with autism. That's well above the 1-2% that studies suggest is the true level.
But this comes with a big caveat. There are weaknesses in the data. Evidence about the true level of autism relies on surveys that have not been done for nine years, so the review team have had to estimate what has happened since.
And there are some age groups where these conditions are still being under-diagnosed, and that should not be overlooked.
It is why the review team said it could not yet conclude over-diagnosis was happening "at scale". But there is certainly evidence to suggest we are moving from an era of under-diagnosis to one of over-diagnosis, the experts said.