The charity said that more than 70 per cent of children with autism have a mental health problem, such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders, despite the fact that this is often preventable. Mental health problems are often dismissed as an unfortunate but unavoidable side effect of having autism, the charity said.
The NAS is calling on the Government to ensure autism training for mental health professionals and access to specialist support across the UK, after its research found that many mental health professionals lacked basic autism training.
A shortage of specialist provision often results in long waiting times and families being turned away. But those families that do receive specialist support are twice as likely to see an improvement in their child's mental health.
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