Being able to build a sizeable platform through the success he has achieved in his career, Tom Aspinall has spoken very openly about an issue that is close to his heart.
The interim UFC heavyweight champion had one of his three sons diagnosed with autism but getting the specialist help that he needed was a difficult process.
He revealed on the Happy Hour Podcast that both he and his partner only considered this to be an option after watching a documentary that aired on TV about English comedian Paddy McGuinness and his similar experiences.
After meeting McGuiness in person shortly after, Aspinall was advised to try and get a diagnosis so that they could correctly identify how best to help his son – but getting this through England’s National Health Service, or NHS, was no easy task.
Tom Aspinall Speaks Openly On His Struggles With The NHS System And Helping Others
The NHS, which offers free healthcare in England, has got incredibly long waiting lists and this meant that Aspinall needed to look into other options.
He spoke about this in depth during the podcast interview, stating that he was lucky to be in a position where he could pay for a private diagnosis rather than having to wait to receive the right assistance.
“We tried getting it through the NHS and there’s like a three-year waiting list and the amount of progress you can make in the three years is like unbelievable and luckily, I’m in a spot financially where I could like pay privately to get a diagnosis.
Like even now, we’ve not given up on the original one and this was like two years ago and we’ve still not got an appointment [with the NHS]. He’s been diagnosed now privately but we’ve still not got an appointment.”
Aspinall then continued about why he wants to speak about this publicly because not every family is going to be in a similar position to him where seeking private help is an option.
The Brit knows that it may be difficult to create any change by himself but if he’s able to raise awareness for the families that find themselves looking for help and not receiving it, he will continue to speak on the topic.
“Absolutely wild. So I like speaking about it because I want to like, I mean it’s only little old me but I want to put pressure on the NHS to be like, let’s f****** do something about this because the waiting lists are just ridiculous, like for ADHD and autism, you just almost can’t get a diagnosis and there’s a lot of parents out there who are lost, they don’t know what to do.”
