For many parents who have children with learning disabilities who are reaching that tender age of transition from Children’s to Adult Social Services, the transition process is an extremely difficult and daunting time in their lives. Not only is it difficult in terms of finding information for the next step, as well as all the decision making processes involved in moving forward, but also the constant battling to strive for the best for your child can be overwhelming. It can all take it’s toll on families. Not to mention how tiring it is to research, visit and appraise all the adult provisions you need to, as well as to keep on top of all the changes in legislation that are currently taking place. This makes it even more important for parents to go out there and be as informed as possible when making those crucial decisions for the future.

Sometimes it may feel that you are lost in a sea of information that is difficult for you to understand. Sometimes it may feel that you are not getting anywhere with the processes for your child in terms of their next steps. Sometimes it may even feel overwhelming as the desire to ‘give up’ rises within you when the battle seems too difficult to continue on.

This is the point when you need to remember; you are not in it alone.

Read blogs, such as ours, for inspiration and advice to keep you going. Research your rights as parents, and also your child’s rights, through reading up on The Care Act 2014, the Health & Social Care Act 2008, Mental Capacity Act 2008 and also other Reports such as the Norman Lamb report following the Winterbourne View Scandal. Join parent/carer groups or forums to talk to other parents and share your findings with each other.

You must remember that this will be the last big fight you will have to make for your child. You can get through it.

Please do take a look at our Transition section on the blog for more information and advice about the processes. Also, if you are starting the search for adult service providers, please do have a look at the ‘Parent Prompt List‘, which is a fantastic tool to refer to as an example list of questions to ask providers when visiting.

Also, do feel free to contact Ann if you would like any information about either her experiences/insights of the transition process from a mother’s perspective, or if you would like to find out more about what Home From Home Care could offer for your young person.