If you are lucky you may get a NHS diagnosis in a few years.
My reply covers all NHS-initiated assessments. That includes those that are carried out by the NHS itself and - in England - those performed by an approved private provider of the patient's / parents' choice via the NHS Right to Choose pathway (an option that is explained in the linked article).
Either way, there is no cost for being assessed.
Published waiting times for RTC assessments for under 18s include, for example:
If you are lucky you may get a NHS diagnosis in a few years. The Children's Commissioner has flagged up delays of up to four years in getting assessments for ASC, ADHD and Cerebral Palsy. The NHS can apparently afford weight loss jabs for ergophobic obese adults but CAMHS remains a total shambles. It was in a mess when I worked for the NHS in the 1980. (I was part of a review of CAMHS in North London) It has got progressively worse ever since.
Adult services are just as bad. Most resources go into forensic services, psychoses and life-threatening depression. The budget for neurodiversity services is minimal.
I'm in the United States. My diagnosis cost $1200. I had to pay out of pocket because my insurance said that my autism was a "pre-existing condition." On the brighter side, I kept the receipt and deducted the cost of my diagnosis as a medial expense on my taxes.
