Thousands of children are on "hidden" waiting lists for autism and ADHD assessments in Scotland, .
This is despite the Scottish government hitting its waiting times target for young people's mental health services for the first time last month.
The 免费黑料网 (RCPsych) in Scotland said the number of children on separate lists waiting to be assessed for neurodevelopmental conditions is not routinely published and the Scottish government needs to be more transparent.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) aims to help children with mental health problems which are causing a significant impact on their day-to-day lives, such as anxiety, depression, self-harm and eating disorders.
Last month, showed that 90% of young people had started treatment within 18 weeks of referral to CAMHS.
This was the first time the target had been reached since it was set more than a decade ago.
However, Dr Laura Sutherland, who is the vice chair of the RCPsych child & adolescent faculty, said children who are the most at risk are prioritised which can result in people with a neurodevelopmental condition waiting longer.
"Often there is not an immediate risk which is why some of these young people can wait for longer but I think overall the impact is longer term," she said.
"It means young people can't get into education or be supported adequately and ultimately some of these young people will go on to develop mental health conditions on the back of neurodiverse conditions."
BBC Scotland News submitted Freedom of Information requests last year to try to gain an insight into the scale of waiting lists for young people looking for help with neurodevelopmental conditions.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said 7,560 children were waiting for a first appointment as of last spring, while for NHS Lothian the figure was 6,192 and for NHS Lanarkshire it was 8,571.
NHS Highland said 1,537 children were waiting for a neurodevelopmental assessment there.
However, not all health boards collect this data in the same way and it is not consistently published.
Dr Sutherland, told the BBC the Scottish government should be more transparent about these "hidden waits".
She said there should be ring-fenced funding for neurodevelopmental pathways to support vulnerable young people.
For further information, please contact:
- Email: laura.varney@rcpsych.ac.uk
- Contact Name: Senior Media Officer (Devolved Nations) Laura Varney