Referral Patterns for Autistic Children and Adolescents with Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions in South London: A Retrospective Chart Review

A child’s postcode or ethnicity may determine whether they get referred for specialist autism support, not just their clinical needs. This matters because autistic children with co-occurring mental health conditions—such as anxiety, depression, or ADHD—often face inconsistent referral pathways. In South London, it is unclear whether referral patterns reflect the true need in the community or are skewed by factors like where a family lives, their income, or their ethnic background. Without this knowledge, some children may be systematically overlooked, while others receive unnecessary referrals, wasting NHS resources and delaying care. If this research succeeds, it will produce a clear map of current referral biases. Clinicians and commissioners could then redesign referral criteria to be fairer and more efficient. The immediate impact would be on healthcare systems: better allocation of specialist autism services, shorter waiting times for those who need them most, and reduced strain on overstretched child mental health teams. The study does not test a new treatment or intervention—it diagnoses a problem in the system, which is a necessary first step toward fixing it.