Children ‘being rejected’ by NHS mental health services if they’re autistic, parents say
Damien Dalmayne, 17, is autistic. He also battles mental health issues that have left him unable to get out of bed and contemplating harming himself.
Warning: This story contains references to suicide
“There were thoughts of me doing stuff to myself. I never did but there were stages where it would get pretty hard and it really did get to that point that I was really considering it,” Damien says.
His depression spiralled during the COVID lockdowns and when he was 15 he was referred to his local NHS mental health team in Greenwich.
The paediatrician who made the referral recommended that Damien be seen “urgently”.
But Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) rejected the referral, instead referring Damien and his family to a local social services team.
Damien believes he was rejected because of his autism diagnosis.
“They [CAMHS] think they can’t help people with special needs. They think ‘that’s just a terminal illness’ even though it’s not,” says Damien.
In its rejection letter, Greenwich CAMHS agreed Damien “experiences emotional difficulties”.
But, noting his autism diagnosis, it suggested he see the area’s Children with Disabilities Team, rather than a specialist mental health service.
Crucially, his mother, Emma Dalmayne, says this meant they were unable to access specialist services like therapy to help Damien.
Autism and mental health ‘seen as separate issues’
Ms Dalmayne says a confused social worker called her after Damien’s referral was redirected to their team.
“They said ‘why have we been called?’ I said ‘I don’t know’.”
“CAMHS see autism and mental health as separate for some reason,” says Ms Dalmayne.
“If you’re not well you go to a doctor, you get help. But no, if you’re mentally ill and autistic and go to a doctor, you’re not getting anything. You’re told ‘well we can’t see you because you have a neurological difference’.”
The NHS trust responsible for Greenwich CAMHS said it is unable to comment on individual cases but stressed it does accept referrals for autistic children who have a “severe and enduring mental health need”.
However, it said children may be referred to other services “where referrals do not meet the threshold for CAMHS”.
CAMHS are run by different health trusts throughout the UK.
Ms Dalmayne is campaigning for better access to CAMHS for autistic children
Ms Dalmayne says she has spoken to other parents with autistic children who have had similar experiences.
She says she knows one mother who is scared to tell her local CAMHS that her son has been diagnosed as autistic because she worries they will stop his care.
“It’s not an inclusive world. We don’t feel included at all,” says Ms Dalmayne, who is also autistic.
Damien believes NHS services don’t think autistic people can engage effectively with therapy.
“It’s not like just talking to a wall. They [autistic children] will end up listening and if they can they will end up talking.”
He says his experience with CAMHS left him feeling “inhuman”.
Damien ended up using his disability benefits to pay for private therapy.
“If I had waited probably six months [longer to get therapy], I probably wouldn’t be here. They [CAMHS] really put my health at risk,” he says.
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Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, which administers Greenwich CAMHS, said: “Currently, just over 16% of our CAMHS caseload includes children and young people with both an autism diagnosis and a severe and enduring mental health need. This does not include children and young people either waiting for or currently being assessed by an autism diagnostic service alongside CAMHS.
“Should individual circumstances change, re-referrals can be made. CAMHS is just one part of a much larger collection of services delivering emotional health and wellbeing support and services to children and young people.”
People with autism more likely to experience mental health issues
Sky News tried to get a clearer picture of autistic children’s access to CAMHS across the UK, but when we requested data from health trusts, the majority did not disclose the number of referrals and rejections for autistic children.
We did learn of the serious pressure facing services nationally, with data showing total referrals to CAMHS had risen by 60% between 2018 and 2023. Rejections from CAMHS were up by 30% across the same period.
While it’s difficult to get a sense of the number of autistic children accessing CAMHS, autistic people are more likely to experience mental health problems than people who aren’t autistic.
Damien says the rejection by CAMHS put his health at risk
Sky News spoke to one CAMHS nurse anonymously – we aren’t identifying the health trust she works for.
She said nationally it’s a mixed picture in terms of the level of care autistic children receive.
“We [CAMHS] certainly don’t do enough for children that have been diagnosed with autism in terms of their post-diagnostic support.”
She says she has witnessed preconceptions about autism among staff that can lead to autistic children not getting the care they need.
Skills ‘aren’t consistent’ across health service
“Some people [working in CAMHS], sometimes might tend to say ‘well it’s [their issues are] because of their autism’ as opposed to thinking well actually they might be autistic but they can also have a mental health difficulty that can be supported,” says the nurse.
“A child that has autism and mental health needs, that’s not going to be solved by social services, they need mental health support.”
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She says skills aren’t “consistent” across the health service and that autistic children can be at a disadvantage if their behaviour means more traditional forms of talking therapy aren’t appropriate.
The nurse continues: “I’ve known it happen where people say ‘oh this person is not engaging’ so they get discharged.
“Sometimes therapy is not always helpful, then it’s about different, more holistic ways to support children and support behavioural changes.
“I do think there’s a need to increase skills within CAMHS absolutely. [Staff] recruitment and retention has been difficult across the board.”
Ms Dalmayne is campaigning for better access to CAMHS for autistic children, her biggest fear is that autistic children and adults are hurting, and even killing themselves, if they can’t access mental health support.
“It makes me feel we’ve got to do everything we can to change it,” she says.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) went from a jihadist movement once aligned to al Qaeda to forming the official government of Syria.
It was a monumental transformation for them, their country and the wider Middle East.
But potentially too for British people who went to Syria – and who were stripped of their citizenship as a result, on the grounds of national security.
Tauqir Sharif, better known as Tox, went to Syria in 2012 as an aid worker. He was accused of being part of a group affiliated with al Qaeda, which he denies, and the then-home secretary Amber Rudd deprived him of his British citizenship in 2017.
“As of now, I am deprived of my UK citizenship but I’m not a convicted terrorist – and the reason for that is because we refused, we boycotted, the SIAC [Special Immigration Appeals Commission] secret courts, which don’t allow you to see any of the evidence presented against you,” he said.
“And one of the things that I always called for was, look, put me in front of a jury, let’s have an open hearing.”
Tox went to Syria in 2012
HTS is still a proscribed terrorist organisation but the British government has now established relations with it.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to Damascus to meet the jihadist-turned-Syrian interim president – the man who swapped his nom de guerre of al Jolani for Ahmed al Sharaa.
David Lammy shakes hands with Ahmed al Sharaa in Damascus. Pic: X / @DavidLammy
If the UK government takes HTS off the terror list, what does that mean for those who lost their citizenship after being accused of being part of it?
People who joined HTS are only a subset among the scores of people who have had their citizenship revoked – a tool the UK government has been quick to use.
According to a report by the Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee, the UK “uses deprivation of citizenship orders more than almost any country in the world”.
The peak of that was in 2017, and mainly in relation to Syria – especially in the case of people joining Islamic State, perhaps most famously Shamima Begum.
Shamima Begum was stripped of her British citizenship on national security grounds
And because people cannot be made entirely stateless, and need to have a second nationality, or be potentially eligible for one, there are worries of racism in who the orders apply to.
Countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh offer dual nationality, whereas other nations do not. In 2022, the Institute of Race Relations said “the vast majority of those deprived are Muslim men with South Asian or Middle Eastern/North African heritage”.
Legal grey areas
Sky News submitted Freedom of Information requests to the Home Office asking for a breakdown of second nationalities of those deprived of citizenship, but was refused twice on national security grounds.
The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, told Sky News there are issues around transparency.
“I do think there is a problem when you have people whose relationship with the country that they’re left with is really technical and they may never have realised that they had that citizenship before and may never gone to that country,” he said.
“Me and my predecessors have all said, owing to how frequently this power is used, it should be something that the independent reviewer should have the power to review. I asked, my predecessor asked, we’ve both been told no, so I agree there’s a lack of transparency.”
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No automatic reversal
Even if the government does remove HTS from the terror list, it would not automatically invalidate decisions to deprive people of their citizenship.
Macer Gifford fought with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a foreign volunteer. Pic: AP
Macer Gifford gave up a career as a banker in London to join the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a foreign volunteer between 2015 and 2017.
He told Sky News that decisions “made years ago in the interest of the British public have to remain”.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
“We can’t sort of go through previous cases nitpicking through it, wasting time and money to bring it up to date,” he added.
“We can’t be naive because the intent to go out, the decision to go in itself is a huge decision for them. So it shows commitment when they’re there, they then, if they take an active participation in the organisations that they’ve been accused of joining, again, that involves training and perseverance and dedication to the cause.”
But those born and raised in Britain, who joined the same cause, and lost their citizenship as a result, might reasonably ask why that should remain the case.
Criminals face being banned from pubs, sports grounds and concerts under new government plans to give judges powers to pass tougher community sentences.
The new measures, which would apply to people in England and Wales, “should remind all offenders that, under this government, crime does not pay”, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said.
Offenders’ freedom could also be curtailed with limits on driving, travel bans and restriction zones confining them to specific areas, the government said.
Similar measures could also apply to prisoners let out on licence, while drug testing would be expanded to include all those released, rather than just those with a history of substance misuse.
While judges are currently able to impose limited bans for specific crimes, such as football bans for crimes committed inside a stadium on match day, the new measures would allow for such bans to be handed down for any offence.
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Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons
The justice secretary said: “When criminals break society’s rules, they must be punished.
“Those serving their sentences in the community must have their freedom restricted there too.
“These new punishments should remind all offenders that, under this government, crime does not pay.
“Rightly, the public expect the government to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The proposals are part of the Labour government’s efforts to tackle overcrowding in prisons.
Back in June, it emerged that prisoners were to be transferred to lower security jails in an effort to ease overcrowding, as part of a new measure quietly unveiled by the government.
Sky News reported earlier this month how the prison system was close to collapse on a number of occasions between autumn 2023 and summer 2024, according to an independent review by former chief inspector of prisons, Dame Anne Owers.
The report said there was a systemic problem which has led to recurring prison capacity crises over the last 18 years.
Protesters have gathered across the country as groups demonstrated against asylum seeker housing and were met by anti-racism campaigners.
Demonstrations under the Abolish Asylum System slogan were held in England, Scotland and Wales, including in Bristol, Exeter, Tamworth, Cannock, Aberdeen, Mold, Perth, Nuneaton, Liverpool, Wakefield, Newcastle, Horley and Canary Wharf.
Counter-protests were also organised by campaign group Stand Up to Racism.
Police officers scuffle with demonstrators during protests at Castle Park in Bristol. Pic: PA
In Bristol, mounted police separated the two groups in the Castle Park, with officers scuffling with protesters.
Police kept around 200 anti-immigration protesters draped in English flags away from roughly 50 Stand Up to Racism protesters in Horley, Surrey.
People take part in a protest outside the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Horley, Surrey. Pic: PA
One man, wearing a West Ham United football shirt, was held by police as he yelled: “You’re not welcome here, you’re not welcome here, you’re not welcome here” at anti-racism protesters.
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Anti-immigration protesters also chanted: “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy Robinson” in support of the far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
A confrontation between a protester and a counter-protester outside the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Horley, Surrey. Pic: PA
The anti-racism protesters chanted “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here” and held signs calling for solidarity and to “stop deportations”.
The Stand Up to Racism protesters were shepherded into a smaller area as they continued to chant: “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here”, which was met with “No they’re f****** not” from the other side of the street.
People inside the hotel look at protesters outside the Radisson Hotel in Perth. Pic: PA
In Perth, protesters gathered outside the Radisson Hotel.
The anti-migration protesters held up signs with slogans such as “Perth is full – empty the hotels” and “get them out”.
People take part in a counter-protest outside the Radisson Hotel in Perth. Pic: PA
Stand Up to Racism Scotland said it had achieved “victory” in Perth, with more than 200 gathering to oppose the Abolish Asylum System demonstration.
In Liverpool, a dispersal order was issued to try and contain the protests.
Saturday’s events come amid continued tension around the use of the hotels for asylum seekers.
Regular protests had been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which started after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl on 10 July.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with trying to kiss a teenage girl and denies the allegations. He is due to stand trial later this month.
In the wake of those protests, Epping Forest District Council sought and won an interim High Court injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated there – a decision which the government is seeking permission to appeal.
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