Llanuwchllyn mother Shan Jones has spoken of her fears for neurodivergent children in Gwynedd after her 11-year-old child waited over three years for a neurodiversity assessment.

She said the delay made his condition worse and she was forced to pay for a private assessment.

“He suffers from extreme anxiety and has heartbreakingly told us he doesn’t want to live anymore because he can’t cope,” said Shan.

“We couldn’t wait any longer - we had to pay privately just to get an assessment. That’s not a choice any parent should have to make. It’s creating a two-tier system where only those who can afford it get help, while others are left to suffer.

“I’m extremely concerned rural areas like ours are being ignored by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and Welsh Government.

“My son is missing out on so much - friendships, learning, joy - because he can’t get the help he needs. All we’re asking for is fairness and timely support.”

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MS Mabon ap Gwynfor issued a warning to Welsh Government and BCUHB over unacceptable and damaging delays diagnosing children with conditions such as autism and ADHD.

Speaking in the Senedd he said some children in north Wales wait up to four years for an assessment – a delay that impacts their development, education, and mental health. Some families, like Shan’s, are being forced to go private. In the BCUHB area, waiting times for autism diagnosis in rural areas have reportedly reached up to 46 months (four years).

A Freedom of Information request revealed 7,154 children are on the neurodiversity waiting list across the BCUHB area with only five clinicians carrying our assessments in the northwest. Seventy-eight assessments were carried out in the northwest from April 25–March 25, compared to 241 in the east for the same period.

Mr ap Gwynfor said: “I have parents coming to my surgeries in tears because their children are self-harming or have died by suicide – children as young as eleven. Data from north Wales shows a list of over seven thousand children waiting for a diagnosis, with the data showing that only 40 assessments are carried out each month in the north. This means it will take 15 years to go through the waiting list.

“These delays are not just statistics, they are real children, real families, and real lives being held back. Parents in Dwyfor Meirionnydd are at breaking point. Some are having to go private just to get the diagnosis their children desperately need. This is creating a two-tier system that is fundamentally unjust.

First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “Demand for neurodiversity assessments has surged in all parts of the UK, but here in Wales we're taking action to ensure families get the help that they need faster. We've already ended all four-year waits for neurodevelopmental assessments for children, and every health board now has a clear plan in place to eliminate three-year waits by March 2026.

“In north Wales, we've given Betsi Cadwaladr an extra £2.7 million to deliver around 1,700 additional assessments this year, and they're on track to do just that.”