Women and Girls with Autism: Mental Health Support

Andrew Cooper Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered mental health support for women and girls with autism.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I am grateful to have secured this debate today to discuss a matter of deep importance for one of my Bournemouth West constituents, Lindsey Bridges, as well as the thousands of families across the country affected by the failings in our mental health and autism care system. I rise today not only as a Member of Parliament, but as a voice for Lindsey and her daughter Lauren, known as Lolly to her friends and family, who is no longer here to speak for herself.

Lauren was just 16 when she died. She was a bright, compassionate young woman, and a straight A student who dreamed of being a doctor or a paediatric nurse. She was also autistic, and like many girls and young women with autism, she faced serious challenges getting the support she needed. In 2021, Lauren was detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. She was placed in an in-patient unit in Manchester six hours from her home in Bournemouth. As a result, her mental health deteriorated severely. In February 2022, Lauren went into cardiac arrest and died in that unit. Her mother Lindsey had begged for her to be moved closer to home, but her pleas went unheeded. This is not an isolated incident. Like too many others, she was let down by a system that promised care but failed in that promise.

[Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)]

My heart absolutely breaks hearing the story about Lauren—it is awful. Many autistic women and girls are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or diagnosed late in life due to the outdated belief that autism mainly affects males. As a result, many women receive mental health treatments for conditions they do not have, including treatments that could be ineffective or even harmful. These diagnostic failures can seriously affect mental wellbeing and may explain high rates of depression in that group. Does my hon. Friend agree that the healthcare system must adapt to better identify and support autistic women and girls early on, prevent misdiagnosis and improve mental health outcomes?

[Jessica Toale]

Absolutely. There are now more than 2,000 people with learning disabilities and/or autism detained across the UK in in-patient units similar to the one that Lauren was held in. They are often far from home, cut off from their families and placed in highly restrictive environments that frequently do more harm than good. Lauren’s case is heartbreaking, but it must also be a turning point, which is why Lindsey is campaigning for Lolly’s law and why I am bringing this campaign to the House today.

Lolly’s law proposes four urgent reforms that could prevent future tragedies. The first is mandatory retraining for psychiatric professionals and support staff so that they have a proper understanding of how autism presents in girls and women. Too often those young women are misdiagnosed with personality disorders or wrongly pathologised.