Preparing for Adulthood
What do we mean by Preparing for Adulthood ?
Planning for the future, developing skills and making decisions about future life paths is important in every young person’s life. For young people with SEND, the transition could take longer and may require a little more preparation.
Preparing for adulthood starts from the earliest years and is everyone’s responsibility. With young children the focus should be on building independence skills, supporting communication and interaction skills, making choices and expressing wants and needs. This helps all young people with SEND, not just those with an education, health and care plan.
Formal transition to adulthood planning starts at year 9 (age 14). The SEND Code of Practice states preparing for adulthood should focuses on support in four outcome areas:
- Education, training and employment
- Independent living
- Participating in communities/society
- Supporting good health
For more detailed information about preparing for adulthood and the four outcome areas, including local area information, please see:
Shropshire Council Preparing for Adulthood
Telford & Wrekin Preparing for Adulthood
Annual Health Checks
All young people and adults from the age of 14 years with a learning disability (LD) should have a health check every year by their GP. Regular health checks can detect treatable illnesses and help prevent more serious ones, as well as familiarising the young person with the GP practice, which they may use throughout their adult life.
For more information visit the following pages
Learning Disability Annual Health Checks
Annual Health Checks | Mencap (easy read)