Over the past few years, referrals for the assessment of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have significantly increased. With that, there has been a growing recognition of the need for smarter, more efficient assessment pathways for individuals with autism and ADHD.
However, the challenge remains – how can we streamline these pathways in a way that reduces administrative burdens, improves wait times, and ultimately enhances patient experiences?
Bringing partners together
Our recent Neurodiversity Tech Showcase event, hosted in partnership with the West Yorkshire Neurodiversity Programme, set out to answer exactly that. By bringing together digital innovators, healthcare professionals, and key stakeholders, the day was dedicated to exploring how technology can improve assessment pathways and service efficiency.
"We need to harness digital innovation to create assessment pathways that are efficient, accessible, and patient-focused."
While many technological solutions exist, the question isn’t just about what is available – it’s about what will truly make a difference in practice. This event provided a platform for vendors to showcase technologies that could revolutionise neurodiversity support. These included tools for profiling, needs-based support, and patient journey improvements, across both child and adult ADHD and autism services.
Adoption and integration into existing systems is also a key piece of the puzzle. As well as watching demonstrations, the event encouraged meaningful discussions between attendees, ensuring that potential concerns, sector-specific considerations, and opportunities for collaboration were all addressed.

Moving forward
Our ultimate goal was to identify place-based opportunities, where digital solutions can be trialled within real-world settings. By focusing on piloting these technologies within children, young people’s and adults services, the aim is to build a framework that can be shared across West Yorkshire, ensuring that learning contributes to broader system-wide improvements.
The next steps involve turning these discussions into actions. This includes connecting service providers with digital innovators to initiate pilot programmes, establishing clear metrics to measure the impact of these technologies, and sharing findings across services to refine and expand the most effective solutions.
Sam Hughes, event organiser and Neurodiversity Lead at West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, commented: "This event was driven by what the system told us was a priority. From our neurodiversity summits, we heard loud and clear that digital solutions could help make ADHD and autism assessment pathways more efficient.
“Our Neurodiversity Tech Showcase was about bringing together the right people - those with lived experience, healthcare professionals, and digital innovators - to explore what’s possible. More than anything, we wanted to build momentum for real change, ensuring that services collaborate rather than duplicate efforts. The conversations we’ve started here will help shape the future of neurodiversity support in West Yorkshire."
This event was just the beginning. With commitment and collaboration, digital innovation can drive lasting improvements in ADHD and autism assessment pathways.
