UK: NHS 'will test all children who believe they are trans for autism'

Ciaran Foreman
The Daily Mail
Sun, 27 Apr 2025 19:12 UTC

© Yui Mok/PA Wire

Pediatrician Dr Hilary Cass holds a copy of her report on the failings of gender dysphoria treatment in the UK

The NHS will test all children who believe they are transgender for autism, it emerged last night.

Following Baroness Cass's review into gender identity for young people last year, NHS England has made revisions that could see every child referred to a gender clinic 'holistically assessed for neurodevelopmental conditions'.

The move comes after the review by Cass found mental health conditions were significantly more likely to appear in children who say they have gender dysphoria.

And now the plans, which were first reported by The Telegraph, will allegedly see medics evaluate each child's mental health, their relationship with family and their sexual development.

Part of the analysis is also said to include whether they are experiencing same-sex attraction.

The new guidance is set to be released for a public consultation before being implemented later this year.

It will be used by children's gender clinics in London and Manchester after being given the green light by Cass at the start of 2025.

An NHS spokesman said:

'As part of NHS England's commitment to implement advice from the Cass Review, we have recently gone out to stakeholder testing on a proposed revised specification planned to replace the interim service specification for the Children and Young People's Gender Service.

'We will soon be going to full public consultation on this draft specification which sets out the new holistic assessment framework that was described by Cass in her report.

'NHS England has recently changed the referral pathway so child patients can only access gender services that we commission if they're referred by a paediatrician or a child and adolescent mental health worker.'

It comes after the news that women are set to be barred from female bathrooms and sport, an equality chief said this month - as lawyers suggested they could be asked to use disabled bathrooms at work.

The Supreme Court's ruling that the definition of a woman in equality law is based on biological sex means trans women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) can be excluded from single-sex spaces if 'proportionate'.

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner described the ruling as 'enormously consequential' and she vowed to pursue organisations which do not update their policies.

Comment: From The Telegraph:

The new NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service will explore eight key areas of a child's life.

To assess "development", doctors will take a "detailed history" of the child's social, cognitive and physical growth, particularly because of the "substantial" changes that take place during puberty.

They will screen children for autism and learning disabilities and look into whether further "cognitive assessments" are necessary.

The specification says: "Given the high prevalence of neurodiversity identified within this population, all those attending the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service should receive screening for neurodevelopmental conditions."

The "multidisciplinary team" of experts, including a consultant specialising in neurodevelopmental disorders, will create a treatment plan for each individual depending on their diagnosis.

If screening "identifies the presence of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a referral should be considered to the Paediatric Neurodevelopmental Service or Paediatric ASD Service," the guidance states.

In such cases, the team of doctors will have to determine if the child's symptoms are caused by autism or whether they also need separate treatment for gender dysphoria.

They could also be kept under review every six months while getting help for their autism or discharged from the service.

Is the UK finally making a slow return to sanity?

Baroness Hilary Cass, author of the Cass Review, deserves whatever Britain's equivalent of the Medal of Freedom is for her brave, principled work on behalf of vulnerable children

• UK: The Cass review into children's gender care should shame us all
• England's only children's transgender clinic Tavistock to be shut down by NHS after review finds it is "not safe" for children
• UK: One-third of Tavistock's 'transgender' clinic's child victims were autistic