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Disabled Children's Service - Growing Up
Disabled Children's Service - Growing Up
Moving to Adult Services
"What are you going to do when you grow up?" is a question posed at some time to every child. For the parent of a young child with special needs, it is a question prompting yet other questions:
"Will s/he be able to live independently?"
"Will s/he get the help and care needed?"
"What about further education, training, employment?"
"What about benefits?"
It is never too early to start planning, and, remember, your young person will have their own ideas too. They will be looking for the same things as every other young person setting out in life:
- A good place to live
- Friends, hobbies and interests
- Possibly some kind of job
- Further education
Contents
For young people who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs, the official planning starts with the annual review held after the young person's 14th birthday- usually in Year 9 at school.
The school calls the review meeting and invites the following to attend:
- You, the parents
- The young person themselves (if appropriate)
- School staff who know your child
- Community Services Transition Worker
- The Careers Service (PROSPECTS) who can outline options for careers and vocational training and identify any specific targets towards independence, personal and social skills which should be tackled during the last year at school.
- Connexions- this is a new service for young people aged 13-19 and up to 25 years if needed. The Service provides a personal adviser to help young people with further Education and employment. The aim of the scheme is to help young people reach their potential.
As a result of this meeting, the first draft of the Transition Plan will be drawn up. This will focus mainly on educational needs.
Connexions is about giving all young people the best possible start in life. They will help and support young people with-:
- Health care issues
- Work experience
- Careers advice
- Study options
- Benefit information
- Training needs
- Rights issues
- Family relationships
- Homework support
All young people are entitled to a Personal Adviser who will provide the help and support they need to achieve their full potential.
You can contact a Personal Adviser by contacting Connexions South London. Connexions in South London provides information, advice and support to all young people aged 13 - 19 and to 25 with learning difficulties.
Address:
Connexions
Argyll House
23 Brook Street
Kingston upon Thames
KT1 2BN
Telephone: 020 8082 6840
Email: kingston@cfbt.com
Website: www.cfbt.com/wayahead
Or by speaking to a youth worker at any of the Youth Centres.
- The young person should be encouraged, where possible, to see how they can best contribute to their own future plans and how their hopes and aspirations can be met
- The family will have a contribution to make in terms of helping the young person develop personal and social skills into adult life.
- The family will need to know whether the young person will experience new care needs requiring practical aids or support.
- The school and the Connexions Personal Adviser will know the young person and will look at how the curriculum will help them to play a part in the community, how to make best use of leisure time, and ways of developing new educational and vocational skills.
The Person Centred Transition Plan
Community Services will ask you and your son/daughter whether you would like a Person Centred Transition Plan. It will incorporate reports from everyone who knows the young person well and is designed to pull together the young person's and parents' views about needs for the future. The plan will provide crucial information to be used as a basis for transition to adult services and both the Children's Team and Adult Team will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition can take place.
Often young people and parents are unsure about the future and what they think would be best. The Disabled Children's Transition Service can arrange for early discussion about services between parents, young people and adult services and about such matters as where the young person will live.
What if my son/daughter attends a residential school outside the Borough?
The process is more or less the same as for other young people with Statements, but there may be other factors to consider- such as extra support for a young person who is returning to an area where they have not been living for a long time.
The school should notify the Disabled Children's Service of the Annual Review as your son/daughter grows older. The Transition Worker will then contact you to arrange a meeting, when they will discuss with you whether you want a Person Centred Transition Plan. If for any reason your school does not refer your child to Community Services, you can get in touch with the Team yourself and ask for a Person Centred Transition Plan to be considered.
What happens to young people who do not have a Statement but have special needs?
Young people without Statements but who have received support from their schools with their special needs should be able to get support, advice and information from the schooland Connexions in planning for transition, even though they do not have a formal review meeting.