Children are ‘incentivised’ to get diagnosed with ADHD and autism to unlock special adjustments at school and work, a government inquiry has found.
There is a growing risk that normal difficulties arising from school or social pressures may be viewed through a ‘medical lens’, a review commissioned by Wes Streeting said.
The interim report, which looked at five to 24-year-olds, found that almost one in ten young adults now ‘self-identify’ as autistic, and ADHD diagnoses have more than doubled since 2021.
There has been a marked increase in diagnoses among girls when they move to secondary school, the report also concluded.
It raises concerns that social media platforms such as TikTok ‘convey a high proportion of factually inaccurate messages’ to children and young people, particularly around ADHD.
The report says that common childhood behaviours such as ‘restlessness, distractibility and social withdrawal’ are being medicalised.
‘Behaviours in children once regarded as within the range of normal variation, or even as something to be welcomed in some contexts, are now more often interpreted as requiring intervention or treatment,’ it added.
The review was commissioned in December by the Health Secretary to investigate the increase in demand for mental health services and potential overdiagnosis of conditions such as ADHD and autism.
Professor Peter Fonagy, a clinical psychologist at University College London, is leading the review along with Sir Simon Wessely, a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatry, and Professor Gillian Baird, a consultant paediatrician specialising in autism.
Professor Fonagy said that there had been ‘credible evidence of a real increase in distress, especially among young people’ and that there was ‘not a simple story of “too much diagnosis”’.
He wrote in The Times: ‘Diagnosis has increasingly become the gateway to support, even where it may not be the most appropriate first step in getting people the right support and tools to live well.’
Approximately one in five children and young people in England has a probable mental disorder, up from one in nine in 2017, according to the NHS.
The proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds reporting that they have autism rose from 5.4 per cent in 2022 to 8.9 per cent in 2025.
But for adults, this only increased from 1.4 per cent to 2.6 per cent.
The report said there has been a ‘substantial and sustained increase in autism-related’ claims for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support at school.
It highlighted incentives to get a diagnosis for autism or ADHD because at school, university, and work, it can be ‘a gateway to resources, adjustment and formal recognition’.
‘Where access to support is closely linked to diagnosis, demand for diagnostic assessment may increase,’ it read.
Officials insist the interim report shows there is a ‘complex picture’ around mental health diagnoses.
It concludes that the current situation ‘cannot be explained by a single narrative’, such as overdiagnosis.
It added that increasing diagnoses of ADHD and autism are ‘likely to reflect a combination of improved recognition, changing help-seeking behaviour [and] institutional incentives’.
The final report and recommendations will be published in the summer.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We need to better understand the factors driving rising prevalence, the impact on clinical services, and how we can promote not just early intervention but also prevention full stop when it comes to mental ill-health and distress.
‘We look forward to receiving the final report and its recommendations in due course.’
