I wasn’t surprised by the children’s commissioner report out today, calling for urgent action to tackle waiting lists in mental health care for children.

Ten years ago, I received a call from my son Thomas’s* reception teacher. They asked me to come in and said he was showing some developmental delays, and autistic traits. Within six months Tom, who is now 15, was diagnosed with autism and ADD (attention deficit disorder) and medicated.

Fast forward to his younger brother William*, and he has been languishing on a waiting list for six years.

Unlike his older brother, William has always excelled academically. But by the age of seven his teachers noticed various issues: he was impulsive, quick to anger and unable to self-regulate — all classic