Scotland's first neurodevelopmental support summit

15 Dec 2025 11:03 AM

Shaping a coordinated national approach.

Scotland's first summit on neurodevelopmental support will take place today, Monday 15 December.

The event will bring together people from clinical services, education, local government, academia and policy.This will support a shared discussion on how Scotland can improve access to, and the availability of, neurodevelopmental support.

The aim of the discussion is to work towards ensuring neurodivergent people get the right help at the right time, ensuring consistent support, assessment, and diagnosis, where required.

Mental Wellbeing Minister Tom Arthur, who is chairing the summit, said: 

"Demand for assessment and support has risen sharply, putting pressure on health, education and social care services. Too many families are waiting too long for help. 

"Our system must change so people get support based on what they need, not how long they wait for a diagnosis. We're making progress through our work with COSLA and the Children and Young People's Neurodevelopment Taskforce, and we've invested an additional £500,000 this year to improve access to care. 

“But we must go further. Real change comes from us all working together. My aim is that the summit gives us a stronger shared understanding of what needs to change and a collective determination to make that happen.”

Background 

Neurodevelopmental conditions include autism and ADHD. There has been a large increase in the number of people seeking neurodevelopmental support, assessment and diagnosis in recent years. This is creating significant pressure on a number of services, with long waiting lists being held by health boards for diagnostic assessments.

Children and Young People’s Neurodevelopmental Support

The National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People specifies the standards that all children’s services should follow to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland.  

The Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA, has undertaken a review of the implementation of the National Neurodevelopmental Specification which will inform improvements to support health boards and local authorities to deliver the Specification.

We have also set up a new Children and Young People’s Neurodevelopment Taskforce to drive forward these improvements, and are providing an additional £500,000 funding this year to enhance the support available to children and families. The Taskforce has now met twice, in October and December 2025.

Adult Neurodevelopmental Support

We fund the National Autism Implementation Team, which is currently supporting NHS Boards to develop, enhance and redesign existing local adult neurodevelopmental services.

We have launched the next phase of our £2.5m multi-year Autistic Adult Support Fund, which aims to help autistic adults understand what neurodivergence means for them and improve their wellbeing.

We continue to fund NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to deliver professional learning on neurodevelopmental conditions.