Preparing for adulthood (PFA)

Your young person with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) will become an adult. They will also move from children's services to adult services. In healthcare and social care this is referred to as 'transitioning'.

It is important to prepare yourself and your young person for this big change. We understand that this can be exciting, upsetting and stressful. Sometimes all at once!

We will help you and your young person to prepare for adulthood. We will also help to make the transition from children's services to adult services as smooth as possible.

How our services will help

Our Occupational Therapy (OT) Service will help support the move from children's services into adult services.

We will do this by:
- referring into adult services or agencies, when required
- signposting to relevant services
- providing reports and advice for further education, apprenticeships and employment
- completing access visits
- arranging and going to meetings with adult services to help the transition
Our Speech and Language Service will help support the move from children's services into adult services.

We will do this by:
- referring into adult services or agencies, when required
- signposting to relevant services
- providing reports and advice for further education, apprenticeships and employment
- completing access visits
- arranging and going to meetings with adult services to help the transition

Ready steady go

Ready steady go is a programme to support young people transitioning to adulthood. The programme is made of up of 3 areas:

Getting ready – between 11 to 13 years old
Steady – between 14 to 16 years old.
Go – from 16 years years old

It can be used by the young person and their parents or carers collaboratively to support transitioning to adulthood.

Visit ready steady go

Changes to be aware of

Young people with long term conditions may not have seen a GP very often or know the team at the GP practice. This is because the paediatrician or specialist paediatric teams provide their care.

It is a good idea for your young person to get to know their GP as they prepare for adulthood. The GP will help link the young person with other adult health and social care providers to make sure they are getting the right care.

GP practice teams have a range of services. They are often involved in long term condition management. GPs can provide confidential care that is independent from a parent or carer.

Visit your GP practice website to learn how to make an appointment.
The local community children's nursing team may have supported your young person. As they move into adult services, they will no longer receive care from this team.

The adult community nursing teams will be different to the children's teams. They usually provide care to people who are housebound from ill health. Adult community nursing teams provide episodes of care.

Adult community nursing teams work with:
- GPs
- acute hospitals to support discharges
- adult social care
- voluntary services
Young people may have had open access to a children’s setting, but as an adult this will change. They will need to access emergency healthcare via A&E or by calling NHS 111.

Call NHS 111 if you urgently need medical help or advice, but it's not a life-threatening situation. You can also call NHS 111 if you're not sure which NHS service you need.

Call 999 if someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk.

Having an emergency care plan in place might be useful. This will ensure the appropriate care in an emergency is received. An emergency might be something like a health condition suddenly getting worse or changing. Read more about emergency care plans.
At 18 years old, social care services will usually be provided by adult services. Local authorities must undertake an assessment for anyone who is likely to have needs for adult care and support as an adult.

The young person or someone acting on their behalf, has the right to request an assessment from the local authority. It can be helpful to contact adult social services before your young person turns 18. This would ensure that there is time to plan for their needs.

Consent, confidentiality and finances

This information may be useful in helping young people understand the changes they might experience as part of adolescence. It can support them to be as independent as they would like.

Decision making and mental capacity

Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they're believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what's involved in their treatment. This is known as being Gillick competent. Otherwise, someone with parental responsibility can consent for them in some circumstances.

We encourage young people to become as independent with their healthcare as they can be. Young people aged 16 or 17 are presumed to have the capacity to make decisions about their own medical treatment, and are entitled to consent, or dissent, to their own treatment, where they have the capacity to do so.

Read more about what the Mental Capacity Act 2005 means for you and your family.

The ability to understand and make a decision when it needs to be made is called ‘mental capacity’. The Mental Capacity Act (MCA, 2005) applies to everyone over the age of 16.

If someone is assessed to lack the capacity to make a decision on their own, then parents, carers and healthcare staff would be involved in a discussion to make a decision about their healthcare on their behalf.

Parents cannot give consent for young people aged 18 years or over, even if they cannot consent for themselves. However, decisions about care and treatment will be made involving parents, carers and professionals. These decisions are called ‘Best Interest’ decisions.

If someone’s liberty is deprived in order to enable care or treatment, the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) will put the young person's rights and wishes at the centre of all decision making. Depriving someone’s liberty means taking away the free choice of a person to move about as he or she wants.

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows a young person to appoint 1 or more people to help them make decisions or to make decisions on their behalf, after they are 18, about their health and welfare.

Useful resources:
Young people and adults have the right to confidentiality. This means keeping information about them private.

If a young person is unsure or feeling worried, they can ask the person they're speaking to. The person can tell the young person about the rules they have to follow, and what will happen with the information the young person gives them.

A young person can give permission or consent for information to be shared. Information can be shared if they ask someone to share it. For example, they can ask their doctor or teacher to share what they've told them with their parents, carers or guardians.

Or, if the young person agrees to their information in their records being shared with another service, this means they can be referred to other services for treatment or support. So if they see a different healthcare professional, they will know how to support the young person.

Healthcare professionals need to make sure everyone is safe. This means they might have to share information about the young person to help keep them safe.

We will only share information if it has to be shared. We might share information if we believe that the young person is a danger to themselves or someone else. This might mean telling their family, school or someone else.

Read more about Youth Rights in Healthcare.
There are resources about finances and benefits, that may make a young person feel more prepared for any upcoming changes they may face.
Grants and other funds may be available to the young person. Check with each charity to see if eligible. Some examples include:

Disabled young adult sitting in a wheelchair at table with books a tablet a water bottle and a mobile phone

Education

Local resources and support that is available to young people with additional needs, if they choose to continue their education.

3 smiling women putting Post-It notes on a glass screen

Jobs and employment

Local job and employment resources and support for young people with additional needs.

Young woman with Downs Syndrome washing a glass in the kitchen sink

Independent living

Local resources and support to help your young person live independently. Independent living looks different for every young person. It will depend on their needs and abilities.

Young man in denim blue shirt leaning over to pick up apples at a grocery shop

Community inclusion

Local activities, clubs and organisations that focus on including young people with SEND in their local community.

Woman in wheelchair walking with white labradoodle service dog in a park.

Health

There are a range of health services and support available to young people as they move into adult services.

Preparing for adulthood (PFA)

How our services will help

Ready steady go

Changes to be aware of

Consent, confidentiality and finances

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Preparing for adulthood (PFA)

How our services will help

Occupational therapy service (OT)

Speech and Language Therapy Service (SLT)

Ready steady go

Changes to be aware of

GP

Community nursing care

Emergency care

Social care

Consent, confidentiality and finances

Independence, decision making and consent

Confidentiality and privacy

Finances and benefits

You must log in to save content

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