Any suggestions for post 19 autistic provision?

Question

Looking for post 19 provision for our son within 2 hours of North Yorkshire. Not getting much help from local authority etc.

Answer 1

Ring your Local Authority & ask to speak to Social Services - ask to speak to the adult social services team, they should be able to advise on what's available in your area.  

From Year 9, the school along with the professionals involved with your child & yourself, should have been involved in what's called transition planning, Social Services should also have been aware of you son & his needs - if longer term planning is needed Social Services should definitely have been involved.  

This community takes in children up to the age of 25:

http://www.optionsgroup.co.uk/autistic/a...

Is your child statemented?

Edit: Unless the residential school only takes children up to the age of 18, funding from SEN will not end on his 18th birthday, it should remain in place until the end of the academic year he turns 18.  Check with the school & see what the age limit is, if they take students up the age of 19, as a Statemented child the Special Educational Needs (SEN) department are obliged to fund his placement up until the end of the academic year he turns 19 although your Authority may have interpreted the SEN Code of Practice in their own way.  

Even if adult social services refused to become involved until he turns 18, there should still be a transition social work team working with SEN & Connexions to help plan for your child's future.  Speak to your SEN dept at your Local Authority & find out if they have a transition panel for 14+ and what's going on.  

Very importantly, you must speak to SEN about how a Statement lapses after a child leaves school - get them to explain this to you.

You should also get your hands on a copy of the SEN Code of Practice & read the section in Chapters 8 & 9 about planning for Statemented children and the lapsing of Statements.  

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/3724/S...

If you haven't done so already you should seek advice from the National Autistic Society or try & make contact with your local support group

http://www.nas.org.uk/

You should also have a word with your local parent partnership organisation & see what advice they can offer:

http://www.parentpartnership.org.uk/

There is a book published by John Catt publications which lists every independent school in the UK, it mentions other communities similar to AALPS but I can't get my hands on teh book at the moment, this is their website with a search facility :  http://www.schoolsearch.co.uk/special-ne...

If you really want to find out what's happening & everyone's being evasive, you could EITHER ask to meet a decision maker  in the SEN department, the person who has charge of their budget & chairs their Panel (titles vary from Authority to Authority so I can't give a reliable title), write down all your questions & get them answer OR go to your local MP & have him submit a member's enquiry to your local Authority, they're obliged to answer an MP's enquiry within six weeks of receiving it.

Answer 2

Check out www.voyagecare.com

My 25 year old autistic son is living in one of their communities and is very happy and settled.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Provision for adults and young adults at the moment is almost none existent. Most local authorities try to place anyone with an ASD into adult mental health facilities which very often is most unsuitable. The best advice is to keep heckling your local authority to come up with the right service even if that means going out of your local area or buying in a service. Most provision for adults is being provided by private companies but your local Primary Care Trust should have money available in their budget to pay for this. You will have to really push the local authority and not take no or second best as an answer. Also try ringing the National Autistic Society's help line. Good luck.