Can technology cut wait times in neurodevelopmental services?
Transforming Care
24 March 2025
By Louisa
Interview with:
Matthew Punter
Founder EDEN
Autism PhD at University of Bath
And
Dr. Philippa Kindon (PhD)
Neurodiveristy Champion
Mayden
Mayden’s digital technology, used nationwide in mental health services, is a powerful addition to tackle pressures faced in neurodivergent care. It is helping streamline processes and cut wait times with reliable, structured data solutions.
Additionally, we believe that the secret to truly exceptional software is partnerships and collaboration.
That’s why we’ve been talking to the experts; researchers, NHS, clinicians and people with lived experience in order to come together to tackle the growing demand for neurodiversity support and contribute thoughtfully where a solution is needed most.
We sat down with Dr. Philippa Kindon, Neurodiversity Champion at Mayden and Matthew Punter, Founder of EDEN to discuss the growing demand for technology to support the provision of assessment and diagnosis and cut wait times for neurodevelopmental conditions.
Technology has a role to play in transforming neurodivergent care
Matthew Punter is currently completing his Autism PhD at University of Bath investigating: “How Digital Solutions Can Solve the Autism Employment Gap” and has been given £8,000 to set up EDEN – Employment Devices for Enhancing Neurodiversity.
“There’s a huge gap in the market for neurodiversity support,” says Matthew, who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and pathological demand avoidance. Matthew believes that the same lack of support he experienced in education repeats itself in later life. Consequently, he founded EDEN, to expand and support more neurodivergent people find ways to employment.
Similarly, Philippa is the mother of an autistic child. She has experienced first-hand the scale of the problem of assessment waiting times in England at the moment. “Services have not been resourced to keep pace with the increasing need for assessment and support for people with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and ADHD”, Philippa says.
There's a huge gap in the market for neurodiversity support
The ability to keep in touch with the service they are waiting for would make a big difference. “Even just knowing that your referral has been received, and any information that has been asked for has been passed to the right team would be a comfort”, Philippa adds.
Furthermore, communicating with services via text, getting reminders of upcoming appointments, and connecting to support whilst waiting would be even better.
“Waiting for an autism or ADHD assessment can feel like a lonely and confusing time,” Philippa acknowledges. “Therefore, being more in-touch with the people who can help, especially connecting practically to sources of information and support, makes such a difference at a really stressful time”.
Adapt existing technology to support neurodevelopmental conditions
In Matthew’s ideal world, putting information about neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., ADHD, ASD) into a standardised technology should be relatively simple. “They are predictably assessed and diagnosed according to two fixed diagnostic manuals.
Moreover, only a handful of screeners and questionnaires are used”, Matthew says. However, it is important to recognise the clinician then plays a vital role in assessing clinical history, risk, observations and input from family, friends and other important figures in the patients life in order to formulate a robust clinical diagnosis.
Matthew identifies three main types of service users: 1) adults; 2) children; and 3) diagnosed individuals. Crucially, each group requires different levels of processing—some less, some more — he explains. Consequently, “If the technology could differentiate these cases, resources could be allocated more efficiently, and complete simple cases quickly.”
People need to be connected to support whilst waiting
Philippa concludes that, ultimately, technology needs to adapt to:
- Enable service providers and users to communicate more effectively, by offering the choice of digital channels where appropriate and preferred.
- Cut wait times for assessment and support by streamlining and automating parts of the pathways that can be more efficient.
- Give greater visibility for clinicians and service managers about who is waiting, for what.
- Establish what needs the individual has that could be met whilst waiting. Examples include psychoeducation, support groups and reasonable adjustments at school and work.
*Clause: for the purpose of these articles we will be using the term ‘neurodiversity services’ which encompasses services within the NHS, voluntary, private, and public health settings supporting provision of assessment and diagnosis for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD.
If you would would like to contribute to our thought leadership series, please get in touch.
PR contact:
Louisa Clark
hi@mayden.co.uk