'I Didn't Know How To Cope': Why Parents Of Autistic Children Are Turning To A&E For Help
When Becky Bincan’s daughter Sofia was four years old, she was diagnosed with autism.
“I was scared,” said the mum-of-five, who had noticed that her daughter had very different needs to her twin sister. “I didn’t really know what that meant.”
Fast forward to 2023 and the single parent, from northwest London, recalled how she felt like she had no other choice but to take her teen daughter to A&E due to her risk of harm.
“As Sofia got older her behaviour became more and more aggressive and dangerous – to herself and to others around her,” said Becky.
“This all came to a head when she was taken to hospital in an ambulance in 2023. I didn’t know how to cope. I thought that something really bad was going to happen.”
The number of autistic children needing emergency care in England has almost doubled since 2019, according to a new analysis of NHS figures.
In 2023/24 alone, almost 21,000 autistic children were admitted to hospital in crisis, compared to just over 11,000 in 2019/20.
The analysis was conducted by Positive Support Group (PSG), a behavioural health partner for the NHS, which specialises in working with people who have complex and risky behavioural and mental health needs.
One child spent 120 days in hospital
PSG said the rise in emergency hospital admissions for autistic children is placing immense pressure on NHS services and leaving thousands of families in crisis.
In many cases, it said discharging autistic children can be difficult due to their complex needs, which can lead to prolonged stays in hospital.
It cited one case where an autistic child spent over 120 days in hospital, yet had no medical need to be in high-cost care. Eventually they were discharged with the help of PSG.
Becky also sought help from the provider after her daughter, now 14, ended up in emergency care. “We were referred to PSG shortly after Sofia’s hospital visit,” she explained.
“They spent a lot of time with Sofia to understand her behaviours and develop ways to help her cope. They’ve stabilised our family and they were there to support me, giving me hope for the future.
“Without this I think Sofia would have ended up back in hospital or with social services.”
Why are more autistic children needing emergency care?
It’s likely these rising emergency admissions reflect “gaps in early intervention, specialist education, and community-based mental health care,” said Sarah Wakeling, CEO at Positive Support Group.
Where there is a dearth of support for parents of children with autism in society – whether in nursery settings, schools, extra-curricular clubs, youth clubs, mental health settings, and more – children are eventually reaching crisis point.
The only place to go at this stage? A&E.
“These worrying figures underline the growing pressure on children’s mental health services and the urgent need to rethink how we provide support for autistic children and their families,” added Wakeling, who called for sustainable investment in community services so children get earlier support.
Pippa Sargent, CEO at The Brain Charity, agreed that autistic children and their families need better community-based support and early intervention.
“Too many families struggle to access the right help early enough, leading to crises that could often be avoided,” she said.
In response to the analysis, a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “For too long, autistic children and young people have been let down by a broken NHS.
“Each regional NHS board is expected to have an executive lead on autism and learning disability to help support equal access to care and improve health outcomes for autistic people across their services.
“As part of this government’s plan to shift care out of hospitals and into the community, we will invest £26 million in new community new crisis centres, supporting patients by giving them access to care closer to home.”
What happens when parents get the early support they need
Vickie Pycroft, 35, is a nurse from Nottinghamshire. Her daughter Ruby, now nine, has a severe learning disability and was diagnosed with autism when she was five.
Vickie said her daughter also has a mix of physical health problems and it’s been “almost impossible to meet all her needs”.
“Without constant supervision Ruby could hurt herself – not intentionally, but because she’s just so unsafe,” said the mum-of-three.
Vickie said the “safest option” for a long time was to keep Ruby separate from other children.
“The way things were going, Ruby would have caused a severe injury to herself or one of her siblings or significantly damaged our house,” she added.
The family was reaching crisis point and “on the verge of breaking down” when PSG stepped in to offer support, which the mum said “has made such a difference to our family”.
“All the usual strategies for autistic children just hadn’t been working, but PSG took so much time to understand Ruby and helped us come up with solutions that work for her,” added Vickie.
“We’ve got some really good plans, and we are no longer living in chaos all the time.”