Dr Iain McClure

Dr Iain McClure is an independent Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with over 30 years’ experience in child, adolescent and neurodevelopmental mental health, particularly autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. He accepts civil, criminal and family law instructions across the UK in cases involving child and adolescent mental health, neurodevelopmental conditions and related medico‑legal issues.

Dr McClure has extensive medico‑legal experience, including expert reports for the Court of Session, the High Court, and sheriff/county courts, with instructions from the NHS Central Legal Office and legal aid agencies. He has completed Cardiff University/Bond Solon expert witness training and regularly reports on diagnosis, causation, capacity, risk, safeguarding and service standards in CAMHS and autism services.

His specialist interests include autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan, complex differential diagnosis (ASD, psychosis, ADHD, intellectual disability), and neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as anxiety, mood disorders, trauma/PTSD and early psychosis in young people. He is particularly experienced in high‑complexity cases requiring detailed formulation and opinion on vulnerability, risk and long‑term support needs.

Dr McClure chaired the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network autism guidelines SIGN 98 and SIGN 145 (www.sign.ac.uk), was appointed by NICE as external reviewer of its autism guidelines, and was formerly Associate Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. He has led Scottish Government‑funded projects on ASD assessment, waiting times and service redesign, and was the national adviser on autism and mental health policy on the Scottish Government Autism Strategy Governance Group.

Dr McClure has recently contributed the following book chapters on the evidence base in autism:

Developing and Implementing Practice Guidelines in The Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Disorders, Fifth Edition, Ed. Volkmar et al, Wiley, 2026 (The major international textbook on Autism).

Why, and How, We Produced the Guidelines for ASD in Scotland, in the Handbook of Evidence-Based Practices in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ed. Reichow, Doehring and Volkmar, Springer, 2025.

Assessment Process

Assessment of a child or young person (as well as interview of their parents, carers or multiagency colleagues responsible for them) is a skilled task which requires a minimum level of arrangement in order to ensure that time spent for all concerned is productive, in terms of the instruction and the outcomes sought for the Court.

In general, I prefer to conduct an in-person assessment and will travel to do so (including internationally). Online remote evaluations of children and young people are less helpful, in my experience, for eliciting necessary information, which often requires careful in-person skills. However, I am prepared to consider remote assessment if in-person is too problematic.

Remote interviews with parents, carers, or professionals are less of an issue. 

Routinely, I require the following information (if available) from instructing solicitors to be included in the Bundle before my assessment can begin:

HEALTH (from birth to age of evaluation)

• General practice records
• All hospital records.

EDUCATION (from enrolment into the first year of nursery school to the age of assessment)

• All records from all schools attended.

SOCIAL WORK (if appropriate, from age of first referral to age of assessment)

• All records from all relevant agencies / local authorities.

THIRD PARTY / CHARITABLE  (e.g. if the child or young person is in a part-time or residential placement)

• All records from all institutions attended, including current.

OTHER

• All records from any other relevant agency / professional connection to the child / young person.

University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle – MB BS (Medicine), 1990.​ University of Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge – BA (Hons) Law and English, MA Cantab.​ Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK – MRCPsych, 1995; FRCPsych, 2016; CCST in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1998.​ West of Scotland training scheme, Glasgow/West of Scotland – Specialist training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Completed the Cardiff University / Bond Solon expert witness training programme, covering report writing, civil and criminal law and procedure, and giving evidence in court.

Royal College of Psychiatrists – Member (MRCPsych) and Fellow (FRCPsych).​ Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) – former Guideline Chair and member of the Guideline Programme Advisory Group.​ Scottish Government Autism Strategy Governance Group – health practitioner member and adviser on ASD/mental health.