What are the barriers to CAMHS supporting Autistic young people with OCD?
In my opinion, the biggest issue is professional competence. Myself and Tanya Adkin have written previously about her concept of neurodivergence competency. Despite Autistic children and young people representing a huge portion of the populations that need access to CAMHS, professionals do not have the skills to support them safely and effectively. This presents huge barriers to access to CAMHS because they are either turned away or given treatment that can have life threatening consequences.
If we wish to reduce the rates of suffering amognst Autistic and OCD young people, we need to fight for a CAMHS that not only lets us through the door, but also upskills it’s professionals, and creates an environment within which Autistic and neurodivergent professionals can work. There is more to be said about the hostile environment that has been created for Autistic CAMHS professionals.