House of Commons · Westminster Hall
15 July 2025 · 8 other contributors · 3,309 words
Opened by Jessica Toale Lab Bournemouth West
Responding minister: Karin Smyth
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Jessica Toale raised concerns about women and girls with autism: mental health support in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key points
Key requests to Government
Lolly’s law proposes four urgent reforms: mandatory retraining for psychiatric professionals, reassessment of personality disorder diagnoses, specialist suicide prevention and self-harm teams, and mandated anti-ligature doors in all mental health units. The petition for Lolly’s law has gathered over 225,000 signatures.
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
Lauren, a bright and compassionate young woman from Bournemouth West, was autistic and faced serious challenges getting the support she needed. She died at 16 after being detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in an in-patient unit six hours away from home where her mental health deteriorated severely due to lack of proper care.
Teachers need better training to understand the unique challenges faced by girls with autism to ensure they receive appropriate and tailored support in schools. There are issues on the school side with tailored support and properly funded SEND pathways, leading to mental health difficulties for autistic girls.
She raises the case of a teenager constituent who had a terrible experience being detained in a secure unit and questions whether more needs to be done to ensure safety and welfare.
Many autistic women and girls are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to outdated beliefs about autism being mainly male. This leads to ineffective treatments and higher rates of depression among them.
She highlights the issue of parents not being believed when their children with autism have meltdowns at home and advocates for this to be included in new training guidelines.
Girls with autism tend to internalise stress more, making it hard for teachers and professionals to identify their struggles without proper training and support in educational settings.
Rolling out more support in schools, transforming mental health services through 24/7 neighbourhood centres, and improving access to mental health advice via the NHS app. Also addressed issues of out-of-area placements with £75 million allocated.
She asks that mental health trusts and integrated care boards do not leave people languishing on lists waiting for an autism assessment, particularly focusing on the predominance of young women on these lists.
Parents struggle to get timely diagnoses for their autistic daughters, leading to frustration and exhaustion as families fight for the necessary support and care.
Government Response
Karin SmythThe Minister for Secondary Care
Karin Smyth expresses gratitude for the debate, acknowledging the high prevalence of mental health problems among autistic people. She highlights the Mental Health Bill which would limit detentions and introduce measures to improve community support. The Minister also discusses ongoing training initiatives under the Oliver McGowan programme, aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of autism in healthcare settings.