Wales has announced a £13.7 million bonus for neurodivergence services and to cut waiting times for autism and ADHD assessments.

The new funding will build on the work of the National Neurodivergence Improvement Programme to transform services and support the National Neurodivergence Team until March 2027, which builds on the £12 million invested over the past three years, alongside an extra £3 million to reduce the longest children’s assessments in November.

So far, the Neurodivergence Improvement Programme has extended workforce training across health, social care, education, and specialisms, as well as trialling innovative needs-led profiling tools. It has enhanced data collection and reporting systems, establishing stronger collaborative relationships between organisations, as well as piloting new integrating service delivery models. They have also held an accelerated design event in Wales.

Mental health and wellbeing minister, Sarah Murphy said the new funding will help to transform neurodivergence services over the last two years. She said: “We know radical change is needed in this sector and we are working with the NHS and services to improve long-term support for neurodivergent children, adults, and their families.

“It the face of unprecedented demand for both diagnosis and treatment, we have made significant progress in developing integrated services.

“This further investment will help reduce assessment waiting times while ensuring sustainable support is available for those who need it.”

The West Glamorgan neurodiverse board’s project is an example of a new support service, which is pioneering a needs-led, strengths-based approach to supporting neurodivergent pupils, as opposed to diagnosis-dependent support.

Julie Davies, chair of the West Glamorgan Neurodiverse Programme and head of child and family services at Swansea Council, said: “We are delighted to hear about the extension of the Neurodivergence Programme. The continued funding will be instrumental in addressing the specific needs of individuals, our endeavours to reduce waiting times, and developing innovative approaches to support neurodiverse communities.”