To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children with autism or Asperger’s syndrome accessed child and adolescent mental health services in each of the last 10 years. (222579)

I have been asked to reply.

This information is not collected centrally.

The annual child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) mapping includes a snapshot of the children and young people using CAMHS and what diagnosis is recorded. The latest findings are in figs. 11.73 and 11.74 on page 116 of “A profile of child health, child and adolescent mental health and maternity services in England 2007”. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Table 8.11 on page 202 of the Office for National Statistics publication “Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004” shows the percentages of children seeking help from CAMHS in 2004 and whether the child had an autistic spectrum disorder. A copy has been placed in the Library.