Children and young people with disabilities

When a young person reaches the age of 18 and a half, their support services will begin to be provided by an adult services team, rather than the children’s services team. Moving from children’s services to adult services in this way is called transition.

How transition works

A joint transition worker will help families and children with special needs plan and prepare for their transition from children to adult services. This will involve working closely with the child and family through specially-planned joint visits and assessments. We will develop an agreed transition care plan with you and help you identify the right adult teams for you and your family.

Transition planning is for the young person, and should be about the things that are important to them. The young person must have every opportunity to communicate their needs. We will work closely with them to draw up a personal plan, to compliment their agreed care plan.

Contact us

Many families and children are aware of the transition process, and will have already discussed this stage with their support workers.

If you haven’t talked to us about transition yet, or if you would like more information, please contact the Children with Disabilities team.

Further information

Learn more about the transition process on the Contact a Family website, or use the link on the right to download the information leaflet From Child to Adult.