AUTISTIC young people and those with ADHD face barriers when transitioning to adult mental health services.
Scoping Review of Transition to Adult Mental Health Services
Using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews, researchers mapped current evidence on care transitions. From 1,677 records, 66 articles underwent full text review and 10 studies met inclusion criteria. Eligible work focused on young people with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who were transferring from child and adolescent mental health services to equivalent adult services. A socioecological lens guided data extraction so that individual, family, service, and wider system influences on transition could be described.
Institutional Barriers Limit Seamless Care Continuity
Most of the available evidence described institutional level barriers rather than individual pathology. Poor communication between child and adolescent mental health services and adult mental health services was a dominant theme, with teams unclear about who held responsibility for initiating and coordinating the transition to adult care. Fragmented processes, lack of shared planning, and inconsistent eligibility criteria left many neurodivergent young people and their families uncertain about what to expect, and at risk of gaps in ongoing mental health support.
Enablers Focus on Collaboration with Neurodivergent Youth
Across the included studies, positive experiences of the transition to adult mental health services were closely linked to collaborative care. When clinicians tailored their approaches to the sensory, cognitive, and communication needs of neurodivergent young people, engagement improved and anxiety about the move reduced. Enablers also included meaningful involvement of young people in decisions about their treatment plans so that preferences, priorities, and strengths could shape adult service involvement.
Young People’s Perspectives and Policy Gaps Remain Underexplored
Evidence gaps were striking. Few studies examined community level factors, such as schools and peer networks, or policy level influences like service funding and national guidance on transition to adult care. Most data came from clinicians or caregivers, with only half of the included studies directly representing the voices of autistic and ADHD youth. For adolescent mental health teams, the review underlines the need to co design transition pathways with neurodivergent young people and to address barriers within services rather than within individuals.
Reference: Tang K et al. Barriers to and Enablers of the Transition From Child to Adult Mental Health Services for Autistic Young People and/or Those With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Scoping Review. Child Care Health Dev. 2026;52(1):e70201.
