ADHD and autism assessment in Aberdeen

Three HSCP areas, three very different NHS realities: the July 2026 FOI figures for Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, and Moray, and your options in each

Reviewed by ADHD Scot,

One health board, three very different waiting lists

NHS Grampian covers Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, and Moray, but its adult ADHD and autism services are run by three separate Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), each with different provision. The board's July 2026 response to our Freedom of Information request (FOI/2026/531) showed how much this matters: where you live within Grampian largely determines whether an NHS adult pathway exists for you at all.

Aberdeen City: an adult ADHD pathway exists, but the median wait is 194 weeks — nearly four years — with 1,823 adults on the list. For adult autism, the median wait is 130 weeks with 1,838 adults waiting (a figure that combines Aberdeen City and Moray).

Aberdeenshire: the HSCP confirmed it holds no waiting list and no pathway for adult ADHD or autism assessment.

Moray: an adult ADHD waiting list has been open since September 2021 and holds 567 people, but in the board's own words there is "currently no service" delivering assessments.

For autism specifically there is a further complication: Aberdeenshire's adult autism and ADHD assessment pathways closed on 31 March 2025, after the non-recurring Scottish Government funding that paid for them ended and Aberdeenshire's Integration Joint Board agreed in February 2025 that the pathways would end. Our autism assessment in Aberdeen guide covers what that means in detail, and the NHS Grampian page publishes the full FOI response.

Children and young people

Children's services run board-wide through CAMHS and Community Child Health rather than through the HSCPs, and neither service can split its figures into ADHD and autism. As at 30 June 2026, 682 children were waiting for a first CAMHS triage appointment — an initial meeting to discuss needs and next steps, not an assessment — with all children seen for triage within 18 weeks. Community Child Health, which accepts ADHD referrals for school-age children with a functional impairment, had 2,220 children on its new patient list across all conditions, with estimated waits of 49 weeks for urgent referrals and 70 weeks for routine ones.

Current figures for every Scottish board are on our NHS waiting times page.

Asking your GP for a referral

Whichever part of Grampian you live in, your GP is the starting point. It helps to:

  • Ask directly which services currently exist in your HSCP area — provision differs between Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, and Moray, and the situation is actively changing
  • Be specific about your symptoms and give examples from everyday life, not just "I struggle to concentrate"
  • Mention that symptoms have been present since childhood, even if they were not recognised at the time
  • Complete a validated screener beforehand — our ADHD self-screener or autism screener gives you something concrete to bring along
  • Ask specifically for a referral to the neurodevelopmental or adult psychiatry service for assessment

If you live in Aberdeenshire or Moray, where no adult service is currently operating, ask whether a referral to a service in another area is possible and ask for the position to be recorded in your notes. If your GP is reluctant, you are entitled to ask why and to seek a second opinion from another GP within the same practice.

Going private from Aberdeen

With no adult service in Aberdeenshire, a dormant list in Moray, and a near four-year ADHD wait in Aberdeen City, many adults in Grampian consider private assessment. A small number of providers work locally, and online providers serve the whole of Scotland. Private assessment typically costs between £800 and £2,000 for adults, with some variation depending on the provider and the type of assessment.

Key things to consider when choosing a private provider:

HIS registration: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is Scotland's regulator for private healthcare. An HIS-registered provider has been inspected and meets required standards. Not all providers are legally required to register — services that do not employ, engage, or grant practising privileges to a medical doctor, nurse or other listed professional are exempt, as are England-based online providers regulated by the CQC. Our regulation page explains what this means. You can filter by HIS status on our compare tool.

Shared care support: If you receive a private ADHD diagnosis and are prescribed medication, you will initially pay for private prescriptions. Many people then ask their NHS GP to take over prescribing through a shared care agreement, which is cheaper long-term. Not all GPs agree to this, and not all private providers support the process. See our shared care guide for more detail.

Assessment method: A thorough assessment uses validated rating scales (such as Conners, DIVA-5, or ADOS-2 for autism) and gathers information from someone who knows you, not just self-report. Our compare tool shows which providers use validated tools.

Find private providers near Aberdeen →

After a diagnosis

ADHD medication

If you receive an ADHD diagnosis and are prescribed medication privately, you can ask your NHS GP to take over prescribing. This requires a shared care agreement. Shared care for ADHD medication is used across Scotland, though the specifics vary by health board and individual GPs retain the right to decline. Our shared care guide explains the process and what to do if your GP refuses.

Autism support

Following an autism diagnosis, support in Aberdeen is available through Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership and national organisations including Scottish Autism, which supports autistic people and their families across Scotland. Our after diagnosis page has more guidance on next steps.

Support groups

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have peer support communities for ADHD and autistic people. The Scottish ADHD Coalition lists ADHD support groups across Scotland, and national organisations such as ADHD UK and Scottish Autism can point you to local groups. Our support page links to the main organisations.

Useful links

ADHD Scot is an independent, non-clinical information project. Nothing here is medical advice. If you think you may have ADHD or autism, the right first step is a conversation with your GP.