Inside voices: Insights on autism diagnosis

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Inside Voices: Insights on Autism Diagnosis is the podcast from the NES Autism and neurodiversity programme. We delve into all things diagnosis and explore the benefits of autism diagnosis within a range services, highlighting why this is not helpful. Our team will be joined by leading experts who will discuss approaches to an autism diagnosis, and the significance of the roles we play in health and social care. We aim to help guide you, as clinicians, through the diagnostic assessment of autism in a range of specialist settings and illustrate how you can use this to help guide your support. Feedback forms are in each episode. Let us know your thoughts and what you’d like to hear next. © NHS Education for Scotland 2025. You can copy or reproduce the information in these podcasts for use within NHS Scotland and for non-commercial educational purposes under creative commons CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed | Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International | Creative commons. Use of this resource for commercial purposes is permitted only with the written permission of NHS Education for Scotland.

Welcome to Inside Voices: Insights on autism diagnosis!

The NES Autism and neurodiversity programme are delighted to announce our new podcast, Inside Voices: Insights on autism diagnosis.

This podcast is aimed at health care professionals across a range of healthcare services, however we would like to invite all of our health and social care colleagues to listen. Our hope is that we can begin to extend knowledge of both the diagnostic process and to the benefits that an autism diagnosis can have for autistic people. We invite professionals from a variety of different services to join us to share their unique experiences and perspectives, not only on the diagnostic process but also how they use this process to help guide them in adapting the supports that they implement in their practice.

Meet the team behind the podcast then listen to our episodes.

Have you had a chance to listen? We ask that you take the time to fill out our short Inside Voices: Insights on autism diagnosis feedback form to allow you to share your thoughts and suggest where we can go in the future with this podcast. Your feedback is very important to us, and we greatly appreciate your opinions and suggestions!

Meet your hosts

Nicole and Evie: Episodes 1 to 3

Evie Blackadder (left top picture) is a final-year Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) student at the University of Strathclyde (2024). Evie has had a range of NHS placements, although is currently in a split placement between NHS Tayside CAMHS and NES. Evie hopes to go into an Adult Learning Disability setting after graduating and has a real interest in neurodiversity and hopes to carry all that she has learned through the process of this placement into her future in the workforce.

Nicole Elliott (right top picture) is a final-year Speech and Language Therapy student at the University of Strathclyde (2024). With a keen interest in supporting individuals with diverse communication needs, throughout her studies, she has engaged in placements in NHS and educational settings. As she approaches graduation, Nicole is looking forward to applying her knowledge and practical skills while contributing to advancements in SLT practice.

Fiona Young (lower picture) produces the podcast within NHS Education for Scotland (NES). Fiona splits her working week between NHS Tayside and NHS Education for Scotland. Fiona is an Advanced Practitioner Speech and Language Therapist in Tayside Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services which involves working across various pathways in the service often supporting the assessment and understanding of neurodevelopmental profiles in children and young people. Fiona is a Principal Educator in the NMAHP Mental Health and Wellbeing team at NES working with a range of partners to design and deliver education for the workforce around Neurodivergence.

Episodes

Wednesday May 07, 2025

Working in a Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Setting

Wednesday May 07, 2025

Join Fiona Young, speech Principal Educator in conversation with Claire Sommerville, Speech and language therapist within Forensic Mental Health and Learning Disabilities. Together, they delve into how the diagnostic process might work in a forensic inpatient setting. We hear how clinicians use the environment and activities available to usefully inform the process and how the diagnostic process and outcome can bring an understanding that can support both care and treatment and future planning for individuals.

Content advisory statement. This podcast contains:

Mental Health
Inpatient forensic health care

If this content may disturb you or those around you please reconsider listening or accessing the podcast transcript.

Access a Transcript of the episode - Working in a Forensic Mental Health Inpatient Setting available on a Sway.

Episode Resources and signposting

Autism Spectrum Quotient-10
Allison, C., Auyeung, B., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2012).Toward brief "red flags" for autism screening: The short Autism Spectrum Quotient and the short Quantitative Checklist in 1,000 cases and 3,000 controls. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(2), 202-212.
DISCO (Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders)
Wing, L., & Gould, J. (2002).The Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders: A comprehensive assessment for autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32(5), 249-263

The information contained in this podcast is current at the point of publication, with no guarantee of future relevance.

Feedback to us. Fill out our short Inside Voices: Insights on autism diagnosis feedback form to allow you to share your thoughts and suggest where we can go in the future with this podcast. Your feedback is very important to us, and we greatly appreciate your opinions and suggestions!

Guest speakers

Claire Sommerville

Claire Sommerville is an Advanced Speech and Language Therapist working within the Directorate of Forensic Mental Health and Learning Disabilities in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Her role involves assessment and intervention for people with a range of communication, eating, drinking and swallowing needs within the in-patient service at both medium and low security. She is part of a multi-disciplinary group looking at neurodevelopmental assessment, support and service development within the Forensic Directorate and is passionate about neurodiversity, person-centred care and patient involvement.

Friday Dec 06, 2024

Working in an eating disorder service

Friday Dec 06, 2024

Join Evie Blackadder and Nicole Elliott, speech and language therapy (SLT) students in conversation with Dr Andreas Paphiti, Clinical Psychologist with the Tayside Eating Disorders Service. Together, they delve into the complexities and considerations involved in diagnosing and supporting neurodiversity within an eating disorder population. Dr Paphiti shares his success stories and practical ideas, offering valuable insights into best practices in an eating disorder service.

Content advisory statement. This podcast contains:

Discussion of eating disorders (Anorexia Nervosa), starvation and trauma experiences.
It mentions social isolation, depression, neglect and abandonment

If this content may disturb you or those around you please reconsider listening or accessing the podcast transcript.

Access a transcript of the episode, Working in an eating disorder service available on a Sway.

Episode Resources and signposting

Beat Eating Disorders Charity page on Eating Disorders and Autism
Norton, B., Sheen, J., Burns, L., Enticott, P. G., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., & Kirkovski, M. (2024). Overlap of eating disorders and neurodivergence: the role of inhibitory control. BMC Psychiatry 24, 454
Duffy, F., Gillespie-Smith, K., Sharpe, H., Buchan, K., Nimbley, E., Maloney, E., Sader, M., Kettley, S., Kerr-Gaffney, J., Waiter, G., & Tchanturia, K. (2024). Eating disorder and autism collaborative project outline: Promoting eating disorder research embedded in a neurodiversity-affirming culture. BJPsych Bulletin, 1-6.
Equip, Understanding autism and how it can affect eating disorders
PEACE Pathway home page
Hull, L., Mandy, W., Lai, M.-C., Baron-Cohen, S., Allison, C., Smith, P., & Petrides, K. v. (2019). Development and Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(3), 819–833.
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition. available at Pearson clinical.
AQ-10 Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ).
NAIT Early Neurodevelopmental History Questionnaire
Embrace Autism RAADS-R 2022
CRT Cognitive Remediation Therapy, an overview article on Science direct website
Cognitive Remediation and Emotional Skills Training for Eating Disorders (CREST). (2019, March 1). Elysium Healthcare.
Brighter lives beyond anorexia on MANTRA.

The information contained in this podcast is current at the point of publication, with no guarantee of future relevance.

Guest speakers

Dr Andreas Paphiti

Dr Andreas Paphiti is a Clinical Psychologist with the Tayside Eating Disorders Service which provides specialist treatment for adults with eating disorders. His role involves providing psychological assessment and therapy for those with eating disorders, as well as working with other co-existing mental health difficulties and neurodiversity. Beyond eating disorders, Dr Paphiti is interested in the intersections of psychological trauma and neurodiversity with eating disorders. He was involved in the development of the autism assessment and treatment pathway within the Tayside Eating Disorders Service, as well as the evaluation of how patients have experienced going through the pathway.

Tuesday Nov 26, 2024

Working in a Mental Health Inpatient setting

Tuesday Nov 26, 2024

Evie Blackadder and Nicole Elliott explore autism diagnosis in inpatient mental health settings. The speech and language therapy (SLT) students are joined by Dr. Laura Sutherland, a Clinical Psychiatrist at the Young Person’s Unit in the North of Scotland. Together, they discuss how diagnosis impacts supports put in place for patients in this setting. Dr Sutherland shares her insights and expertise on how to best support neurodiverse individuals for clinicians working in these environments.

Content advisory statement. This podcast contains:

Discussion of eating disorders and mental health and wellbeing concerns, specifically anxiety and depression.
It mentions physical restraint and psychotic illness

If this content may disturb you or those around you please reconsider listening or accessing the podcast transcript.

Access a transcript of the Working in an Mental Health Inpatient setting, available on a Sway.

Episode Resources and signposting

Kuriakose, S., Filton, B., Marr, M. et al. (2018). Does an Autism Spectrum Disorder Care Pathway Improve Care for Children and Adolescents with ASD in Inpatient Psychiatric Units?. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 48, 4082–4089.
Kriegel, G., Paul, S., Leonard, K.H. et al. (2023). Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Inpatient Adolescent Psychiatric Population. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Jones, K., Gangadharan, S., Brigham, P., Smith, E., & Shankar, R. (2021). Current practice and adaptations being made for people with autism admitted to in-patient psychiatric services across the UK. BJPsych Open, 7(3), e102. DOI: 10.1192/ bjo.2021.58
The DISCO - National Autistic Society
Navigating the Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised (ADI-R) - Cortica
ADOS overview, training and resource
Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.
PEACE Pathway
SWAN Scottish Women’s Autism Network.
Talking Mats. (2013). Talking Mats | Improving communication, improving lives.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2024). Find guidance
Nation Autistic Society
Scottish Autism

The information contained in this podcast is current at the point of publication, with no guarantee of future relevance.

Guest speakers

Dr Laura Sutherland

Dr Laura Sutherland

Dr Laura Sutherland is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist who works in the North of Scotland Young People’s Unit in Dundee. She advocates for the recognition of young people’s neurodivergent needs as part of their inpatient care as the proportion of young people admitted who are neurodivergent is high.

She has an interest in teaching and training of medical students and resident doctors. She works as a senior lecturer for the University of Dundee medical school and as Training Programme Director for core psychiatry training in the East of Scotland. Dr Sutherland is undertaking research into neurodiversity in medical students as part of a Masters in Medical Education.

Friday Nov 22, 2024

Introduction to Inside Voices: Insights on Autism diagnosis

Friday Nov 22, 2024

Our introduction episode features the role of the autism diagnostic process and the importance of neurodiversity-centred practices in clinical care. Your hosts are Nicole Elliott and Evie Blackadder, Speech and Language therapy (SLT) students who are in conversation with Fiona Young, SLT and Educator. Fiona shares her expertise and offers insights for clinicians on how to support neurodivergent clients effectively.

Content advisory statement. This podcast contains:

Discussion of adverse childhood experiences and mental health and wellbeing concerns
It mentions childhood maltreatment, anxiety and depression along with eating disorders

If this content may disturb you or those around you please reconsider listening or accessing the podcast transcript.

Access a transcript of the Inside Voices: Insights into Autism Diagnosis podcast, available on a Sway.

Episode Resources and signposting

Gaddy, C., & Crow, H. (2023). A primer on neurodiversity-affirming speech and language services for autistic individuals. SIG 1 Language Learning and Education, 8(6).
‘Identity-Affirming Approaches for Autistic Clients: Therapists Best Practice’ - Vauna Beauvais
Pritchard-Rowe, E., & Gibson, J. (2024). Professionals’ perspectives on neurodiversity-affirmative autism diagnostic assessment. Neurodiversity, 2.
Embracing Neurodiversity: My Journey from Diagnosis to Psychiatry Trainee blog resource

The information contained in this podcast is current at the point of publication, with no guarantee of future relevance.

Guest speakers

Fiona Young splits her working week between NHS Tayside and NHS Education for Scotland. Fiona is an Advanced Practitioner Speech and Language Therapist in Tayside Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services which involves working across various pathways in the service often supporting the assessment and understanding of neurodevelopmental profiles in children and young people. Fiona is a Principal Educator in the NMAHP Mental Health and Wellbeing team at NES working with a range of partners to design and deliver education for the workforce around Neurodivergence.