Autism (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)

The figures below indicate the recorded number of South Tyneside residents diagnosed with autism and / or learning disabilities. The number of individuals with autism is compared to other neighbouring areas. The data should be interpreted in the context of overall population size.

The data below comes from GP clinical systems, as extracted from RAIDR (Rapid Actionable Insight Driving Reform) system. It therefore only includes those patients with autism and / or learning disabilities known to primary care.

Data shown is as of June 2022, the full year data for 2023 is not yet available, therefore the most recent information for the full year has been used.

Local

South Tyneside

• 1,578 people with autism only.
• 907 people with learning disabilities.
• 348 people with learning disabilities and autism.

Regional

Sunderland

• 3,765 people with autism only.
• 1,822 people with learning disabilities.
• 998 people with learning disabilities and autism.

County Durham

• 5,554 people with autism only.
• 3,351 people with learning disabilities.
• 935 people with learning disabilities and autism.

North East and North Cumbria

• 0.8% (23,900 people) of the population have a learning disability recorded.
• 1.1% (35,520) are autistic.
• Of these, 5,750 are autistic and have learning disabilities.

Expected prevalence

• Learning disabilities 2%+.
• Autism global prevalence estimated at 1.04%; children in UK 1.6%.

Age statistics

• 17% of autistic people recorded are male and aged 10 to 14. This is also the age band with most females with autism. The mean age of patients with diagnosed autism is half that of the population as a whole.
• A large proportion of people diagnosed with autism are between 5 and 9 yrs olds. From that stage, there is steady decline in diagnosis by age, significantly decreasing from 20+ onwards.
• 74% of autistic people are male.
• Autistic people are likely to have been diagnosed more recently than someone with a learning disability, with around 26% of autistic people having had their diagnosis for 10 years or more.
• Based on date of the earliest code on the patients' GP clinical record that puts them on the learning disabilities or autism register. Patients may have received a diagnosis prior to this in another setting.
• A quarter of autistic patients received a diagnosis before their 5^th birthday, and 54% before they turn 10.

More information on learning disabilities data can be found in the Learning Disabilities JSNAA.

Children known to SEND Services in South Tyneside

In South Tyneside, the school census identifies the following areas of primary need across Education Health and Care (EHC) Plans and Special Educational Needs (SEN) Support.

Children and young people with special education needs and disabilities

Data taken from the school census 2022 / 2023 tells us that; nationally, there are 1,183,384 pupils in schools who have identified SEN needs without an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP). this is an increase of 4.7% from 2022. 

There are 389,171 pupils who do have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP), an increase of 9.5% from 2021 / 22.

This gives the total number of children and young people who have special educational needs (SEN) as 1,572,555.

Using the same data (school census 2022 / 23) the published South Tyneside figures are:

SEN support / SEN without an EHC Plan: 3,960

EHC Plans: 1,105

Total SEN: 5,065

The table below displays comparative analysis with regards to national, regional, and local SEN need, derived from the school census.

South Tyneside currently has a higher rate of children and young people requiring SEN support. This trend has been consistent over the last four years.

Adults with autism

In South Tyneside, 2022 / 23, there are approximately 798 people aged between 18 and 65 with a formal diagnosis of autism. To note, rates are lower in the 60+ age due to historically poor diagnosis rates.

The number of autistic females nationally is thought to be under-diagnosed; it is widely acknowledged that autistic women present differently to men which may be contributing towards this. 

The data presented above is from the local authority system.

The overall number of individuals with autism known to the local authority has been broken down into domain. The 6 individuals known to "alternative services" comprise of various services such as transport.

Autistic people in inpatient beds

There are currently 4 adults in inpatient beds with an autism diagnosis, no children. This figure has remained relatively stable over the last 2 years.

There have been approximately 12 people utilising inpatient beds over the previous 2 years to date. In terms of admission, the individuals being admitted changes relatively quickly, however, usage has remained stable.

It is worth noting that secure beds and beds for children and young people are commissioned differently. Therefore, this data is not included within these figures.

Co-conditions

Co-conditions linked to the Core20PLUS5 (asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health and mental health) shows that regionally people who have a diagnosis of autism (without a learning disability) have lower prevalence rates of diabetes and epilepsy.

However people with autism only diagnosis have higher rates of anxiety disorder than those without autism.

Data extracted from GP clinical systems reported into the North East Commissioning Service (NECS) period covering 2022 / 2023.

Data specific to South Tyneside (below - code 00N), sets out the local demographic based on the Core20+5 for the year April 2021 to March 2022 (latest full year data is not yet available).

In accordance with Core20+5 for children and young people, which displays the key clinical areas of health inequalities, South Tyneside is in the lower average percentile across the regions for prevalence in 4 key areas.

The data has been extracted from GP clinical systems reported into the North East Commissioning Service (NECS).