Did you know? On your child’s 18th birthday, he/she will transfer directly to adult services and the services you access i.e. respite, may not continue over?  Transition can be brutal, and it doesn’t just start from 16/17 years old… the processes can take time and, as we are sure you are aware, the fight for funding can be tough. As parents you are entitled to gather as much information as you want to ahead of your child turning 16, and it is important to give yourself as much time as possible. Life can be frantic and it can fly by before you realise it, so don’t be lulled into a false sense of security that transition is too far away to start worrying about.

On Saturday 28th June at The Autism Show Manchester, Paul will be hosting a session on transition into adult services from his very own personal parent perspective. We cannot reiterate enough that this session is not just for parents whose children are currently at transition age. Paul gives a very honest and open account of his daughter’s journey, with a particular focus on Laura’s transition and looks in-depth at all the processes & decisions leading up to transition, including a breakdown of all the options available to you. He is able to give you his advice as a fellow parent, and tips on what you need to start looking at for when the time comes to make those all important decisions.

It is never too early to understand what is going to happen when your child turns 18 and transfers over to adult services and it is important to know what you are going to come up against so that you can plan ahead of time and not be left short of support. Please read our blog post “Stark Reality at 18” which goes into more depth about the changes you will encounter when moving to adult services.

Come to The Autism Show Manchester – Friday 27th June & Saturday 28th June at EventCity, Manchester (next to the Trafford Centre) – take it from us, this is a brilliant show which was set up by parents themselves and showcases all the different support, activities, equipment, respite etc available for you nationwide, as well as some extremely useful workshops and seminars run by parents, organisations and associations which may be able to give you some support. Not one to miss! Click here for more info and to book your tickets.

Please also do come and see us on stand C3 to talk to us about your young person. We look forward to seeing you.