All-Age ADHD and Autism Services - NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin

Last year, people across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin were invited to share their views about all-age ADHD and Autism services to help shape improvements for children, young people, adults, carers and families.

This was an important opportunity to influence how services are designed, delivered and improved to better meet the needs of our communities.

What we did

From September to November 2025, we asked people about Autism and ADHD services. We:

ran an online survey
visited communities across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin
talked with groups and local organisations that already meet
spoke with people we don’t often hear from
provided help and small grants so communities could run their own engagement.

Who we heard from

We heard from over 1,000 people, including:

children and young people
parents and carers
adults with Autism and/or ADHD
people from different ethnic groups
people living in communities facing greater disadvantage.

We also heard from Telford’s Black and Asian communities, and from people with links to Hong Kong, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.

What people said

services can feel slow, not joined up, and hard to navigate
some people feel unheard, dismissed, or unsupported
support often comes too late, or only when things reach crisis point
families want clear information, compassion, and practical help.

A few examples of what people said would improve the service

1) Faster, fairer, joined-up services

People want:

shorter waits for Autism and ADHD assessments
joined-up checks (Autism, ADHD, mental and physical health where needed)
a clear step between diagnosis and getting the right help
better teamwork between health, schools and social care
regular updates while people are waiting.

2) Easier to use services and clearer information

People want:

one clear place to find information about services and what people can get
the same advice from health, schools/colleges, and social care
clear signposting to local and national support
help with forms
a helper (like a navigator or advocate) to guide families and adults.

3) Emotional and mental health support

People want:

mental health help that understands Autism and ADHD
support that understands trauma and sensory needs
help earlier, so problems do not become a crisis
ongoing support for people, and for parents and carers
support that lasts as long as it is needed.

Our community leaders said ‘make sure support is fair for everyone’:

help services understand different cultures better
reduce unfair judging (stigma)
give information that is easy to read and use in the right language
support refugee families and newly arrived families
make it clear how services work across the NHS, councils and education
make sure everyone can get support fairly.

Read the report

To find out more, you can read the summary report

What we are doing with your feedback

We will use what you told us, alongside other local information, to see what is working well, what is missing, and what needs to change.

We have heard that waiting times for Autism and ADHD assessments are far too long, pathways are confusing, and support is inconsistent before and after diagnosis. In response, we have committed to a full redesign of all-age Autism and ADHD pathways and have started developing a unified, needs‑led pathway to make the system simpler, safer, and easier to navigate. This will include expanding navigation and advocacy support and ensuring that information is available in accessible formats and multiple languages.

As part the launch of the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), we have introduced a new online e‑referral portal, co‑produced with practitioners to make referring children and young people simpler, quicker and more consistent. The portal reduces duplication, streamlines information gathering and allows, where needed, two referrals to be submitted at the same time. GPs and all other health, education and social care professionals were encouraged to start using the e‑referral portal from 1 April. Paper referrals will continue to be accepted during a phased transition period.

We will keep this page up to date as the work progresses.

Thank you to everyone who took part, and to all the community partners who helped. Your views matter.

Contact us

If you have questions, please email: stw.communications@nhs.net