October 9, 2026

Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism: final report and recommendations

The review was commissioned in response to growing public discussion around mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions, alongside increasing recognition of the challenges people face in accessing the right diagnosis and support.

With input from over 120 colleagues, it seeks to bring all the evidence to bear to assess what is going on: Are we seeing increased prevalence of these conditions? What is driving the changes in diagnoses we’ve observed? How does this impact on the support needed by these individuals? The report then makes recommendations for how to best meet the needs of people with mental health conditions, ADHD and autism.

Journalists came to the SMC to hear from the authors of the Independent Review into mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism, as they presented their final report and recommendations.

Speakers included:

Prof Peter Fonagy CBE FMedSci, Chair of the review and Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, UCL

Prof Sir Simon Wessely GBE FMedSci FRS, Vice chair of the review and Professor of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London

Prof Gillian Baird OBE, Vice-chair of the review and Professor of Pediatric Neurodisability, King’s College London (retired)