Doctor wanted to help autistic people

Dr Claire Evans-williams said she wanted to set up the Autism Academy as she was misdiagnosed until her early 30s.

In 2017, then aged 35 and working as a clinical psychologist, she said she wanted to create the St Andrews facility to address a “wholly unacceptable gap in services for autistic adults”.

In an interview with the Daily Record Dr Evans-williams said she was not diagnosed until she was 32, when she was studying the condition and recognised traits in herself.

While she was studying psychology at Strathclyde University she was misdiagnosed with dyslexia and, during her doctorate, she was assessed again and told she had dyspraxia, a disorder affecting motor co-ordination.

But when the subject of autism was being covered during her doctorate, she recognised elements of her own character.

Leaving her NHS role to open the Autism Academy, she said: “There is a wholly unacceptable gap in services for autistic adults. The majority of mental health workers don’t have even a basic knowledge or understanding of what autism looks like in adults.

“I felt I was more able to make a difference by breaking out of the system. I want to share my expertise as a clinical psychologist but also as an autistic person.

“I have insight into what is effective. The needs of a child are completely different from a woman in her 30s or a man in his 50s.”

During the interview, Dr Evans-williams claimed to have developed the “first theoretical model to guide clinical practice in treating autistic adults”.