Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the gender gap in neurodiversity diagnosis in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

We recognise that diagnosis rates of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are lower in women and girls and lower than the best evidence on prevalence. This may reflect differences in how autism and ADHD present in males and females, which may make these conditions more difficult to identify in women and girls.

Some information on autism and ADHD diagnosis rates by gender can be taken from the Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities, Experimental Statistics 2023 to 2024, published by NHS England, and based on 54.7% of registered patients. This data shows that 0.82% of females have an autism diagnosis recorded on their general practice (GP) record, whereas for males it is 1.84%. For ADHD, 0.9% of women had an ADHD diagnosis on their GP record, compared to 1.6% of men.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism and ADHD set out considerations for clinicians when assessing for autism or ADHD, including highlighting that autism and ADHD may be under-recognised in women and girls.