Health Checks for Autistic Adults

Many autistic people have said that they find accessing healthcare difficult. Autistic people have also said that identifying their health needs and managing appointments with professionals can also be difficult. Health checks can identify important conditions that affect health and wellbeing and are available to people through the NHS.

We co-designed a health check for autistic adults in partnership with autistic people, carers and supporters of autistic adults, and Primary Care staff. In this study, we investigated whether this health check was acceptable to autistic people and whether there is evidence that it improves health outcomes. We also evaluated whether it is feasible to deliver in the NHS.

Latest Updates and Summaries of Findings

We have created three videos so you can choose whichever you'd like to watch and hear about the results. First is a short animation (3 mins). Below this is a 15 minute summary video presentation from a conference, and after that is a 45 minute detailed presentation about all stages of the research

Animation

We worked with Research Retold to create a short animation to introduce the Health Checks for Autistic Adults study, the health checks process and benefits. Click on the image below to watch the animation. 

We hope this animation conveys key messages to autistic adults, carers and health professionals.

Presentations 

Autism Europe Conference, Dublin, September 2025 (15 min) 

We presented some of the findings from the trial at the Autism Europe Conference in September 2025. This presentation focussed on the acceptability of the health check and learning for delivering health checks for autistic adults in the future. 

Dissemination event in London, Friends House, September 2025 (45 min)

We held an event in London in September 2025 to share the findings from the research programme. The event was attended by NHS England Autism Programme, Autistica, the National Autistic Society, CQC and the Department of Health and Social care (amongst others).

Infographics designed by Research Retold

An infographic is a simple and visual way to share information. Instead of using lots of text, it combines images, charts, and short explanations to help you quickly understand key points. We have worked with Research Retold to create these infographics describing the main trial findings.  The short version is first (one page), and the more detailed version is below (2 pages). 

Brief Infographic: One page

Detailed Infographic: Two pages

 

If you are interested in using our health check tools, please contact the research team – healthchecks@ncl.ac.uk

The study was led by Professor Jeremy Parr and Dr Barry Ingham alongside a consortium of autistic people, health professionals and researchers.

The trial was sponsored by Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and funded by Autistica and NHS England