Childrens Quarterly Autism statistics

Childrens Quarterly Autism statistics

Published 1 February 2023

Theme: Childrens Quarterly Autism statistics for Northern Ireland
Purpose: For information
Authors (statisticians): Heidi Rodgers, Jessica McCluney, Malcolm Megaw
Publication date:1 February 2023
Issued by: Community Information Branch, Information and Analysis Directorate, Department of Health, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 3SQ
Email: cib@health-ni.gov.uk
Webpage: NI Autism Statistics

1. Children’s Autism Referrals

During quarter ending 31 December 2022, there were 1,422 accepted children’s referrals for an autism assessment in Northern Ireland, an increase of 4.6% since 31 December 2021 (Figure 1). Table 1 sets out the number of accepted autism referrals for children from 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2022 by Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust. Table 2 sets out the rate of accepted autism referrals for children during year ending 31 March 2022.

Table 1: Number of accepted autism referrals for children from quarter ending 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2022

HSC Trust	31 Dec 2021	31 Mar 2022	30 Jun 2022	30 Sep 2022	31 Dec 2022
Belfast	266	282	294	299	233
Northern	550	516	578	418	440
South Eastern	178	162	231	163	248
Southern	195	243	267	233	274
Western	171	211	244	194	227
Northern Ireland	1,360	1,414	1,614	1,307	1,422

Figure 1: Number of accepted autism referrals for children in Northern Ireland from quarter ending 30 June 2014 to 31 December 2022

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Since 2014 there has been a general increase in the number of accepted autism referrals for children across Northern Ireland, with a peak of 1,614 referrals at quarter ending 30 June 2022. The dip in referrals for quarters ending 30 June 2020 and 30 September 2020 are likely a result of the increased pressures on HSC Trust’s because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Table 2: Rate of accepted autism referrals for children during year ending 31 March 2022

HSC Trust	Number of accepted children’s autism referrals	NI Child Population	Rate per 10,000 children
Belfast	1,018	77,506	131.3
Northern	1,991	109,282	182.2
South Eastern	634	81,712	77.6
Southern	821	99,466	82.5
Western	748	73,142	102.3
Northern Ireland	5,212	441,108	118.2

2. Children’s Autism Diagnoses

During quarter ending 31 December 2022, there were 632 children’s autism diagnoses in Northern Ireland, a decrease of 7.3% since 31 December 2021 (Figure 2). Table 3 sets out the number of autism diagnoses for children from 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2022 by HSC Trust. Table 4 sets out the rate of autism diagnoses for children during year ending 31 March 2022.

Table 3: Number of children diagnosed with autism from quarter ending 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2022

HSC Trust	31 Dec 2021	31 Mar 2022	30 Jun 2022	30 Sep 2022	31 Dec 2022
Belfast	83	90	111	74	69
Northern	225	193	242	210	208
South Eastern	129	111	80	81	88
Southern	131	114	102	89	139
Western	114	143	131	113	128
Northern Ireland	682	651	666	567	632

Figure 2: Number of autism diagnoses for children in Northern Ireland from quarter ending 30 June 2014 to 31 December 2022

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Figure 2.XLSX (8kB)

Between 2014 and 2019 there was a general increase in the number of autism diagnoses in children across Northern Ireland. The quarters ending 30 June 2020 and 30 September 2020 saw a large decrease in the number of diagnoses of autism; however, this was likely a result of the added pressures on HSC Trust’s due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since 30 June 2021, the number of diagnoses of autism in children has remained relatively consistent.

Table 4: Rate of autism diagnosis for children during year ending 31 March 2022

HSC Trust	Number of children diagnosed with autism	NI Child Population	Rate per 10,000 children
Belfast	334	77,506	43.1
Northern	767	109,282	70.2
South Eastern	457	81,712	55.9
Southern	551	99,466	55.4
Western	454	73,142	62.1
Northern Ireland	2,563	441,108	58.1

3. Download data

The data presented in the figures and tables within this publication can be downloaded in excel format by clicking the button below.

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Quarterly data: 25KB

Metadata

The attached tables present the number and the rate of accepted referrals for children’s autism assessments and number of children diagnosed with autism in each of the Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts in Northern Ireland.

Source

Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG).

Validation

Validated aggregate autism information is submitted by each HSC Trust to the SPPG. The SPPG regionally validates the returns upon receipt.

Limitations

Figures relate to under 18s only; however, there may be instances where a person enters the system at under 18 but are over this age at the time of assessment. There will be some different practices between the HSC Trusts which may cause differences in the figures presented.

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