Post-Diagnostic Support Update

We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to share an important update regarding our services.

Recently, we have been working in partnership with the Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service (LADS) team to develop a new joint referral pathway for post-diagnostic support.

This means that from April 2026 onwards, anyone suitable for post-diagnostic support with Leeds Autism AIM will be referred directly from LADS as part of their diagnostic follow-up.

This new pathway has been developed to tackle the overwhelmingly high demand on the service, avoiding long waiting lists for support.

One-to-one post-diagnostic support service is designed to help newly diagnosed autistic individuals better understand their diagnosis.

We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time.

What is post-diagnostic support?

Our post-diagnostic support is a free service which gives newly-diagnosed autistic adults (diagnosed in the past year) the opportunity to meet and talk one-to-one with an autistic member of staff.

You will get up to three sessions, each 45 minutes long and will discuss the following topics:

  • Your diagnosis
  • Understanding your autism
  • Strategies to manage day-to-day
  • Families and relationships
  • Help to put forward your needs
  • Disclosing your diagnosis or not
  • Sensory issues
  • Your rights / reasonable adjustments
  • Mental health signposting / counselling signposting

Why we do post-diagnostic support

This service was set up because it was recognised once people get their autism diagnosis, they are given very little information about what this means for them.

We believe in empowering people with knowledge, and our goal is always to support you to become a better advocate for yourself. By supporting you to become more knowledgeable about what autism means to you, we hope you are better able to put your needs forward.

We also hope that through these sessions, you will get to know yourself better and identify your strengths and, where necessary, work with our staff to produce strategies to manage some of the things you might struggle with.

Who funds this work?

The sessions will be funded by the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).