As your child approaches their 14th birthday, services supporting your family will begin to focus on preparing your young person for the increased independence of adult life.
Initially, this may start with a focus on exams in Key Stage 4, and choices through Key Stage 5, for example, whether they go to sixth form, college or other supported courses.
It's never too early to start supporting your child with this process. This page will look at the key areas to focus on in preparing them for later life. These areas are:
If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), it does not have to end when they leave school. Their plan can continue up until the age of 25, as long as they still have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and are in some kind of education or training.
If your child needs ongoing support they will move from child to adult services around the time of their 18th birthday. This can happen just before, or after, depending on where you live and the professionals involved.
This transition planning from child to adult services will start when your child is 13-14 years old. New professionals supporting your child will be invited to your child's EHCP Annual Reviews, so your child will meet a practitioner from each adult service before they transfer.
All young people can have hopes and dreams for the future. Theese are often more formally talked about as being goals, wishes or aspirations. Some might be long-term big goals, others might be short-term smaller wishes. For example:
You can encourage your child's hopes and dreams by helping your young person understand what skills they might need to develop and become more independent. Independence comes in different forms depending on the level of support your young person might need. It can feel scary talking about the future and the long-term goals, but many of these aspirations can be broken down into smaller, more manageable steps.
Read more about how to plan for the future by the SEND local offer
It's also important to help your child to plan for changes. Neurodivergent young people can struggle with events or activities that are unplanned, or sudden, so helping them to cope when changes arise is an important skill.
Your child can legally leave school at the end of the school year when they turn 16, however, they must be in education or training until the age of 18. Education or training can be combined with paid or voluntary work and there are lots of options to choose from. For example:
Helping young people to make choices about their future can involve looking at their strengths, weaknesses and motivations. Having supported conversations can help your child decide what is important to them and how they want to achieve their goals.
Useful websites that could help you to talk about future education or employment include:
National Careers Service - Helps you to search for different types of courses
Help You Choose - An information, advice and careers guidance website for young people in Norfolk
Norfolk Community Directory - Contains activities, services and groups to help young people across Norfolk
SEND Local Offer - Support for young people with SEND on finding and applying for employment and education
Find E-Learning on finding employment from the National Autistic Society here
Independence can vary depending on your child's needs and abilities, for some, it could look like building skills, adapting spaces or living independently. Many young people can make small strides towards gaining more independence, but you might need to look into adaptations or equipment which can help assist your child in day-to-day activities.
Find out more about support, changes and adaptations in the home here
To live independently, young people will need to consider housing options and the support available through local services like occupational therapy and social care.
Disability advice services like Mencap can give you information on what housing options would be most appropriate and affordable, for example:
Other things to consider for young people who wish to live independently include choosing a location to live in, learning skills like budgeting, and transport from their new locations. Breaking a large subject like moving home down into smaller, more manageable tasks can be a useful tool to prevent something very exciting from becoming overwhelming.
Find out more about housing options for young people with SEND
An often overlooked part of the transition to adult life is the feeling of belonging to a community. This can come from making friends, participating in local events, and getting involved in activities like volunteering.
Encouraging your young person to be involved in the local community and to take advantage of what the area offers can help prepare them for social situations and how to cope with challenges later in life. It can also provide them with opportunities to make friends and gain independence.
Keeping healthy and understanding what to do, or who to go to when they feel unwell is a big skill as your young person moves into adulthood. Supporting your child to learn about their body and how their lifestyle can affect their body is something that can be discussed from a young age. As your child gets older you can add in relevant age-appropriate subjects, for example:
Your child may begin to ask to go to doctor's appointments or some health checks on their own, so it's useful to teach them how they can manage their appointments or find help if they need it. Useful advice on making health appointments for young people aged 11-25 can be found on FYI Norfolk.
Some neurodivergent young people with SEND may notice some services they have been supported by changing as they move between children's and adult provisions. For example:
Let us know what you think!
We've been working together in Norfolk and Waveney with families and professionals to put together information, advice and resources that are helpful to families. Let us know what you think, and anything we could change or add to make it even better.
If you live in Norfolk
You can contact the Healthy Child Service team by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123 or texting Parentline on 07520 631590. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays) and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.
If you are 11-19 you can text ChatHealth on 07480 635060 for confidential advice from one of our team.
If you live in Waveney
Norfolk SEND Local Offer provide information and advice on services for young people with additional needs in Norfolk.
Suffolk SEND Local Offer provide information and advice on services for young people with additional needs in Waveney.
Mencap is a national charity who support people with learning disabilities. They offer a free Learning Disability Helpline with advice and guidance. Call 0808 808 1111 to speak to a trained professional.
Kooth offers online counselling, advice and emotional well-being support for anyone aged 10-18, seven days a week until 10pm.
Also in this section...
Moving on to a new school, college or setting can be a big transition. Creating a one-page profile can help your child to communicate what's important to them and how they can best be supported in a new setting. 
Relationship maps are a great tool to highlight to young people the different family members and friendships who are there to support them. 
To make decisions and plan for the future, you and your child could start thinking about what's going well in their life and what they would change if they could. This tool can help to sort out their thoughts on different parts of their life and to help identify what is important to them. 
Picture My Future is an approach to planning for adult life for people with disability and additional needs. It involves short training modules that enable people with disabilities, and those who support them to be meaningfully involved in the planning process. 
