Children with autism often develop mental health problems. Research shows that:
- 1 in 10 children and young people who access child and adolescent mental health services has autism
- children with autism are at least three times more likely to develop a mental health problem than children who do not have autism
- support from professionals with specialist autism knowledge is more effective, but this support is often unavailable.
We are currently carrying out research into support for children with autism who have co-occurring mental health problems in preparation for a major campaign to improve child mental health services for children and young people with autism. The campaign will launch in June 2010.