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AI chatbot could revolutionise autism and ADHD diagnosis pathways

19 August 2025
As NHS services struggle under the weight of soaring autism and ADHD referrals, a new digital innovation is offering hope. We will be spearheading patient and public involvement in the tool development, ensuring families are at the heart of its design.

With over 172,000 open autism referrals in England as of December 2023, and some families waiting over three years for help, the need for innovation is urgent. Parents can feel lost in the system, lacking the tools to understand their child’s needs or seek the right kind of support.   

Assembly, backed by the Anna Freud Centre and NHS trusts, has developed a clinically rigorous chatbot that could change that. Their innovation is a ‘screen, support, signpost and triage’ digital assistant that aims to empower parents, reduce inappropriate NHS referrals, and cut down on duplicated assessments.   

Having received further funding to develop the chatbot, the next phase of development will integrate a psychoeducational neurodevelopmental screener. This tool will help provide parents with more structured, accurate information about their child’s behaviour, enabling the chatbot to deliver more personalised advice and better signposting to services.  

Ayse Tanyeri, Founder and CEO of Assembly said: 

We are proud to be building a tool that will help many families in the UK as they wait for their children to receive an official diagnosis. Our tool will help build a holistic understanding of each child, thus allowing for their needs to be met earlier and more appropriately. 

Dr Frank Burbach, project lead, said: 

Our goal is to make this chatbot part of NHS clinical pathways. By improving the quality of data at the point of referral, we can help the NHS triage more effectively and reduce waiting times.

In this next phase, we will lead the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) work, ensuring that the voices of parents and carers shape every stage of the chatbot’s evolution. This includes co-designing content, tone and functionality through a series of focus groups and workshops  

Dr Natt Day, Head of PPIE at UCLPartners said: 

Our role is to make sure this tool is not only clinically robust but also genuinely useful and acceptable to families. By embedding PPIE throughout the project, we’re building something with, not just for, the people it will support.

After development, 50 parents and caregivers from across the UK will have the opportunity to user-test the new tool and provide further feedback. 

Parent of a child living with ADHD said: 

My child has been on the waiting list for ADHD assessment for 32 months now. I have spent many hours researching online, looking for advice during the wait, but it is very hard to find the information and support I need. This tool will help me get advice I can trust, understand what is going on and help me find the right support.

If successful, the chatbot has the potential to rewrite how families access neurodevelopmental care for their children, as well as bringing much-needed relief to an overwhelmed system.

This work has been funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research.