Our FOI requests
ADHD Scot submitted Freedom of Information requests to all 14 Scottish NHS health boards asking for ADHD and autism waiting time data. This page publishes everything, what we asked, what each board said, and links to the original responses.
Why we're doing this
The Scottish Government says it "does not hold information on average waiting times for autism assessments at either national or parliamentary region level" (written answer S7W-01711, 10 August 2026). We publish the figures boards give us so they are available in one place.
Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, any person can ask a Scottish public body for information it holds. Health boards must respond within 20 working days of receiving a request. We submitted identical requests to all 14 Scottish NHS health boards on 24 June 2026.
We are publishing the requests and all responses here in full, with personal information removed, so anyone can read exactly what was asked and what each board said.
The exact request we sent
The following request was submitted to all 14 health boards on 24 June 2026:
Please provide the following two figures for each of the four assessment types listed below, as current point-in-time figures where possible, or alternatively for the most recent available period:
a) The median waiting time in weeks from GP referral to first assessment appointment
b) The total number of people currently on the waiting list
The four assessment types are:
1. Adult ADHD assessment 2. CAMHS (under 18) ADHD assessment 3. Adult autism assessment 4. CAMHS (under 18) autism assessment
If any of the above is not held in a readily reportable format, please provide the nearest available equivalent and indicate what that is.
Requests were submitted via each board's published FOI contact address.
One caveat worth noting: some boards told us they do not record ADHD and autism referrals separately (for example NHS Lothian, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Orkney). Instead they hold a single combined figure under a ‘neurodevelopmental assessment’ category, which affects how their numbers compare with boards that split the two.
What Section 12 means (cost refusals)
Some boards have responded by citing Section 12 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. This allows a public body to refuse a request if complying would cost more than £600. Boards cost staff time at £15 an hour, so this is about 40 hours. Where a board has done this, we have published their full explanation. A Section 12 refusal does not mean no waiting list exists. It means the board says the data cannot be extracted within the legal cost limit. A Section 12 refusal can be challenged: first by asking the board for a review, then by appealing to the Scottish Information Commissioner, see foi.scot/appeal for details on that process.
What Section 17 means (information not held)
Some boards have responded by citing Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Section 17 applies when a public body does not hold the information requested at all, this is different from a Section 12 refusal, where the board says the cost of complying would exceed the limit.
In NHS Dumfries and Galloway's first response (July 2026), the board said it did not hold the information in a reportable format and that "There is no adult ADHD or autism service in NHS Dumfries and Galloway".
Reviewed by ADHD Scot,
Round 1: summer 2026
Most recent response received: 19 August 2026
Responses received
NHS
All four categories provided. Figures were given in days and converted to weeks by dividing by 7. Data as at 25 June 2026.
NHS
In its response, NHS Borders stated that it does not routinely record ADHD or autism assessment waiting times electronically and has no digital medical records system, records are held on paper. Extracting the figures would require a manual trawl of every patient record, exceeding the £600 cost limit, so all four categories were refused under Section 12.
NHS
NHS Dumfries and Galloway responded under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, stating that waiting time data across all four assessment types is not held in a reportable format. The board additionally confirmed that there is no adult ADHD or autism assessment service. The response did not confirm whether a CAMHS (under 18) ADHD or autism pathway exists.
NHS
Adult ADHD and adult autism data refused under Section 12 (estimated cost £10,710 to extract around 8,570 records). CAMHS figures were provided: median wait 22 weeks (ADHD) and 89 weeks (autism). These cover all triaged cases from all referral routes, not GP referrals only.
NHS
The board says it does not operate condition-specific adult ADHD or autism assessment pathways, and CAMHS does not operate condition-specific waiting lists. Adults may be assessed through secondary care community mental health teams (CMHTs) where they meet the criteria; the board's target is to see accepted referrals within 12 weeks (a target, not a measured wait). Under-18s (CAMHS): for patients referred by their GP and treated so far in 2026, the median wait for a first 'Choice' appointment was 5 weeks, and 431 young people were waiting for one. These figures are not specific to ADHD or autism. All four requested categories were refused under Section 12.
NHS
Data is split across three areas (HSCPs) that run their services differently. Aberdeen City: adult ADHD 194 weeks / 1,823 waiting; adult autism 130 weeks / 1,838 waiting (Aberdeen City + Moray combined). Aberdeenshire: no adult ADHD or autism assessment service. Moray: a waiting list has been in place since September 2021 with “currently no service” (the board's words), 567 on the list. Under-18s (CAMHS): 682 waiting for a first triage appointment across the board, covering all CAMHS referrals (not just ADHD or autism), can't be split by condition. A separate children's service has 2,220 waiting (49 weeks urgent / 70 weeks routine, mixed conditions).
NHS
All four categories provided, Scotland's largest board. Adults (ADHD): 8,886 waiting, median 111 weeks board-wide. Reported by area (HSCP), including Glasgow City at 4,907 waiting / 139 weeks (East Dunbartonshire 635/56, East Renfrewshire 582/67, Inverclyde 296/84, Renfrewshire 2,207/88, West Dunbartonshire 259/58). Adult figures cover all referral sources, not GP only. Adults (autism): 2,641 waiting, 65 weeks. Under-18s: run as one combined neurodevelopmental (ND) service. School-age waiting lists by referral reason, autism 4,921 (105 weeks from GP referral), ADHD 2,563 (120 weeks), combined ASD & ADHD 3,056 (111 weeks). The board says referral reason isn't mandatory and may differ from the final diagnosis, and that children with an ASD or ADHD referral seen in another service, for instance CAMHS, are not counted; it says the numbers "may be an underrepresentation". A separate pre-school autism pathway has 2,060 children waiting. Children first seen in June 2026 had waited a median of 90 weeks. Extract dates: adults 5 July, under-18s 1 July 2026.
NHS
Adult figures provided: adult ADHD median 38 weeks (433 waiting); adult autism median 127 weeks (443 waiting). The board notes it cannot tell from the data whether the first appointment was for screening, triage or assessment. Under-18s: under Section 17, NHS Highland does not hold aggregate CAMHS ADHD or autism waiting data. Children are not placed on the CAMHS list specifically for an ADHD or autism assessment; referrals must first meet CAMHS criteria. General CAMHS waits are published by Public Health Scotland.
NHS
Median waiting times were refused under Section 12, NHS Lanarkshire's neurodevelopmental service isn't broken down by condition, so extracting them would exceed the £600 cost limit. They did provide combined neurodevelopmental waiting-list totals (ADHD, autism and other conditions together, not split by type): 3,592 adults and 11,094 children waiting.
NHS
After clarification, NHS Lothian said it was unable to report on ADHD and autism assessments separately and provided a combined summary for both, so these figures are combined neurodevelopmental totals, not ADHD-only or autism-only. Adults: median wait to assessment 177 weeks (about 3 years 5 months, our conversion), with 12,769 adults waiting at 22 July 2026. Under-18s (CAMHS): median wait 141.5 weeks, with 12,275 children waiting at 22 July 2026. The two lists together hold 25,044 people (our sum). The response is dated 30 July 2026, after the 20-working-day statutory deadline.
NHS
NHS Orkney runs a single neurodevelopmental (ND) service that assesses ADHD and autism together, so it cannot separate ADHD from autism figures. Adults: no median wait was provided, the board says waiting times depend on individual clinical need, referral complexity and capacity. As a point of reference, the board said the adult ND service was assessing people referred in November 2024 (about 21 months before the response, our calculation). Around 139 adults were waiting for a combined ADHD and/or autism assessment. Under-18s (CAMHS): no median wait was provided, and there is no separate paediatric ND service. The CAMHS ND pathway covers children already open to CAMHS with complex mental health needs who are awaiting a combined ND assessment, so an ADHD-only figure could not be given. 25 children and young people were on the CAMHS ND assessment waiting list.
NHS
NHS Shetland confirmed under Section 17 of FOISA that it does not hold ADHD- or autism-specific waiting data, because its waiting lists, referrals and appointments are not coded by whether a wait relates to ADHD or autism. As the nearest equivalent it gave whole-service figures as at 30 June 2026: adult Psychological Therapies 257 waiting (median 22 weeks) and CAMHS 17 waiting (median 4 weeks), neither of which is ADHD- or autism-specific. The board responded following our requirement for review.
NHS
NHS Tayside gave waiting-list headcounts but no median waiting times, and only for Dundee. Adults (Dundee HSCP): 632 people waiting for an ADHD-related appointment and 885 for an autism-related appointment. The board could not give a median wait for either, it says it cannot reliably identify which referrals came from GPs (ADHD), and that its Trakcare referral system does not record the clinical reason for a referral, so autism assessments can't be separated from referrals of all kinds. Angus and Perth & Kinross HSCPs said they have no separate ADHD or autism pathways and do not hold the figures (Section 17), so these counts cover Dundee only, not the whole board. Under-18s (CAMHS): NHS Tayside has no ADHD- or autism-specific CAMHS pathway and does not hold the figures (Section 17). The board's response says NHS Tayside CAMHS "do not have an ADHD or Autism specific pathways".
NHS
The board's neurodevelopmental (ND) pathway started in August 2024. Adults: adult ADHD is assessed by a separate community psychiatric nurse (CPN) team, 52.3 weeks, 277 waiting. Adult autism is listed at 24.9 weeks; the board also says the ND service has completed no adult autism assessments since it started in August 2024. Adult neurodevelopmental referrals (78) are counted together. Under-18s: separate medians were given for ADHD (2.3 weeks, all referral sources, as no GP breakdown was available) and autism (69.3 weeks); the combined under-18 ND wait is 70.3 weeks. The waiting-list count isn't split by condition, 164 children on the combined list. Waiting lists at 30 June 2026: adult ADHD 277, adult ND 78, under-18 ND 164.
Round 2: autumn 2026
On 20 September 2026 we sent the 14 boards follow-up requests asking for updated figures on the same basis as our June request, plus some additional detail such as the longest current wait and the number waiting more than two years. Responses are due by 19 October 2026. We publish each one here as it arrives, with the figures added to our waiting times tracker.
Responses received
NHS
Children’s neurodevelopmental figures now disclosed; round 1 was fully refused on cost grounds.
NHS
Adult autism median wait now reported (117.7 weeks, for first appointments from GP referral, 1 July to 29 September 2026); in round 1 the board said no adult autism assessments had been completed since August 2024.
NHS
Full response. Median waits rose for adult ADHD, under-18 ADHD and under-18 autism. The longest under-18 ADHD wait is 1,645 days (about 235 weeks), and 438 of the 455 on the under-18 ADHD list have waited more than two years (96%, our calculation).
NHS
11,486 children and young people on the neurodevelopmental list (round 1: 11,094); the longest-waiting child was referred on 9 November 2020.
NHS
No change in recording: waiting lists are still not coded by ADHD or autism, so no ADHD- or autism-specific figures are held. As the nearest equivalent the board gave updated whole-service figures as at 30 September 2026: adult Psychological Therapies 314 waiting (median 21 weeks; round 1: 257, 22 weeks) and CAMHS 14 waiting (median 4 weeks; round 1: 17, 4 weeks). Neither is ADHD- or autism-specific.
NHS
Full response. Adult ADHD list 9,160 (round 1: 8,886), median 120 weeks (round 1: 111); 5,332 have waited more than two years, and 559 adult ADHD assessments were completed in 2025/26.
NHS
Aberdeen City adult ADHD list 1,950 (round 1: 1,823), median 198 weeks (round 1: 194); the longest wait is 217 weeks and 1,105 have waited more than two years. Aberdeenshire still has no active adult service.
NHS
Confirms a children’s assessment pathway (the Neurodevelopmental Assessment Service, with CAMHS for ADHD-only referrals): 2,412 on the NDAS list at 30 September 2026, covering all referral reasons, not just ADHD or autism. Adult NHS assessments are not routinely provided.
NHS
No figures again: waiting times, list sizes and referral counts were all refused on cost grounds, as in round 1, because records are on paper and referrals are not logged separately as ADHD or autism. The board confirms adult ADHD assessment (Adult Mental Health Service), adult autism assessment (Adult Autism Assessment Service) and children’s assessment through CAMHS.
NHS
Adult autism list 372 (round 1: 443), median 136 weeks (round 1: 127); 290 have waited more than two years and the longest wait is 360 weeks. Adult ADHD list 500 (round 1: 433), median 32 weeks (round 1: 38).
NHS
Children’s ADHD median 29 weeks with 346 waiting (round 1: 22 weeks, 297); children’s autism 92 weeks with 1,283 waiting (round 1: 89 weeks, 113), the board did not explain the difference. Longest children’s ADHD wait 88 weeks; 788 ADHD assessments in 12 months. Adults refused again under Section 12 (£10,710 to extract from 8,570 records).
NHS
The board now says it cannot reliably report Dundee ADHD numbers (632 in August). Autism is counted Tayside-wide: 1,083 awaiting an autism-only assessment at TAACT (as at 22 October 2026), not Dundee-only 885. Perth & Kinross ADHD 800 was newly disclosed, and Angus has 991 on the neurodevelopmental waiting list plus 222 in the pathway. Longest Dundee ADHD wait: referred 8 April 2021.
NHS
Adults 13,253 waiting (round 1: 12,769), median 175 weeks (round 1: 177); 7,315 have waited more than two years. Under-18s (CAMHS) 12,562 waiting (round 1: 12,275), median 139 weeks (round 1: 141.5); 6,205 have waited more than two years. ADHD and autism counted together.
Awaiting response (due 19 October 2026)
- NHS Orkney Awaiting response
What the terms mean
The boards' responses use legal and NHS shorthand. Here is what each term means, in plain English. Click any term to expand it. (Section 12 and Section 17 are explained in full near the top of this page.)
Full response
The board answered all four of our questions, adult ADHD, adult autism, under-18 ADHD and under-18 autism, with waiting figures.
Partial response
The board answered some of our questions but withheld or could not provide the rest, usually citing Section 12 (cost) or Section 17 (not held), or because it only records ADHD and autism together as one combined figure.
Requirement for review (internal review)
If you think a board has handled your request wrongly, or it misses the deadline, you can ask it to review its own decision. We use this as the first step when a board is late or when we believe a refusal is wrong, before taking it any further.
Scottish Information Commissioner
The independent regulator who enforces freedom of information law in Scotland. If a board still fails to respond properly after a review, you can appeal to the Commissioner, who can order the information to be released. More at foi.scot.
20 working days (the legal deadline)
A Scottish public body must respond to an FOI request within 20 working days of receiving it (section 10 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002). If a board does not respond within that time, we begin escalation.
HSCP (Health and Social Care Partnership)
Boards often deliver these services through local partnerships, for example Glasgow City or Aberdeen City, which can each run and record things differently. That is why one board's figures are sometimes split across several HSCPs, or why one area has a service and the next does not.
CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, the NHS mental health service for under-18s. Several boards told us they do not hold CAMHS waiting figures for ADHD or autism separately (for example NHS Highland, NHS Tayside and NHS Forth Valley), so their responses give general CAMHS figures or none.
Median wait
The midpoint: half of people waited less than this and half waited longer. We asked boards for medians because a median is less affected than an average by a small number of very long or very short waits. Some boards gave an average instead; where they did, we say so.
Your rights
If you are unhappy with how a health board handles an FOI request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days. If you remain unsatisfied after a review, you can apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision. The Commissioner can require the board to release the information.
You can submit your own FOI requests to any Scottish public body at any time, you do not need a reason, and you can ask for any information the body holds.
How to make a FOI request, Scottish Information Commissioner ↗