Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-kv2lp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-05T01:37:58.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

‘Life changer as a general adult psychiatrist’: delivering a National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2026

Conor Davidson*
Affiliation:
Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds, UK
Karen Quinton
Affiliation:
Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, UK
Abdul Raoof
Affiliation:
Secure Mental Health Services, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Wickford, UK
Verity Westgate
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK
Regi T. Alexander
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Hatfield, UK
*
Correspondence to Conor Davidson (conor.davidson@nhs.net)
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Autistic people are at high risk of mental health problems, yet psychiatrists report limited training and confidence with respect to autism. The National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists aimed to improve recognition and earlier diagnosis of autism and to promote reasonable adjustments and autism-informed practice. Over 1500 psychiatrists completed the foundation course, and over 250 undertook the enhanced course. Substantial improvements were observed in ten core autism-related competencies, alongside widespread reports of changes to individual clinical practice. The programme is among the largest autism training initiatives ever delivered to psychiatrists and provides important lessons for future programmes.

Information

Type
Education and Training
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists
Figure 0

Table 1 Learning objectives of the foundation course and enhanced courseTable 1 long description.

Figure 1

Fig. 1 Sensory calm space at Glastonbury festival 2023. Image: author’s own (the woman in the picture is C.D.’s wife).

Figure 2

Fig. 2 Distribution of participants in the National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists by region.

Figure 3

Fig. 3 Distribution of participants in the National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists by role.

Figure 4

Fig. 4 Co-production and engagement spectrum. Five levels of public involvement are shown, from informing to co-production, with people at the centre. This figure was adapted from the NHS England Co-Production Resource Toolkit.18

Figure 5

Fig. 5 Autism practice confidence (averaged across ten competency domains) before and after participation in the National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists.

Figure 6

Fig. 6 Participant-reported impact of the National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists on the clinical practice.

Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.