Employment and Training
Transition
Transition
The transition from childhood to adulthood can be difficult for people with learning disabilities. A transition plan is needed in order to achieve continuity of care and support for both the young person and their family. This covers a range of topics including:
- Leaving school
- Entering further education or training
- Starting work
- Regular personal income
- Leaving the family home
- Establishing a new independent home
- Entering new relationships
- Taking a partner and considering marriage
- Becoming a parent
Transition to Adult Life
'Valuing People' (2001) (1.18) states that:
'Young disabled people at the point of transition to adult life often leave school without a clear route towards a fulfilling and productive adult life'.
In consideration of this, the second of its eleven main strategic objectives stated in the 'Valuing People' White Paper is:
Objective 2 -Transition into Adult Life
'As young people with learning disabilities move into adulthood, to ensure continuity of care and support for the young person and their family, and to provide equality of opportunity in order to enable as many disabled young as possible to participate in education, training and employment'. (2.9).
It is a requirement that all young people over the age of 14 years with a Statement of Special Educational Needs have a transition plan. In Scotland, the equivalent is called a Future Needs Assessment.
The transition to adulthood can be thought of as embracing most of the following experiences:- - Leaving school
- Entering further education or training
- Starting work
- Regular personal income
- Leaving family home
- Establishing a new independent home
- Entering new and sometimes sexual relationships
- Taking a partner, possibly marrying
- Becoming a parent
These experiences are, of course, overlapping and interconnected. They do not necessarily follow a sequential process, but most of us will be familiar with these stages through our own development. Throughout such experiences we will have considered our hopes and aspirations, made choices and attempted to apply self-determination.
The research shows that young people with disabilities - particularly learning disabilities - whilst have the same aspirations as the rest of us, face greater challenges in almost all of the areas mentioned.
To improve the quality of people's lives in many key areas means tackling issues around social exclusion. The Social Exclusion Unit describes social exclusion as what can happen when groups of people (or geographic areas) suffer from a combination of linked problems, such as unemployment, poverty, poor skills, unfair discrimination, poor housing, high incidence of crime, ill health and family breakdown. People who are considered to be vulnerable, such as those who are disabled or from certain ethnic minority groups, can experience multiple disadvantages.
'Valuing People' (2001) (and the equivalent strategy for Scotland - 'The Same As You') puts inclusion as one of the key features of its vision to bring positive change in the lives of people who have a learning disability. The way to achieve this inclusion, the government believes, is for learning disabled people to be included in an ordinary life, education, leisure and recreation, daytime opportunities and, where possible, work. There should also be greater access to mainstream services and less reliance on specialist ones.
Four key principles are seen as being important in tackling the effects of social exclusion, particularly at the time of a person's transition. These are:
- Rights: people accessing their full rights and not being discriminated against in society.
- Independence: the promotion of independence, rather than sustained dependence, with support and services being provided to maximise this. Independence does not necessarily mean doing everything unaided; it refers to people living and performing to their fullest potential even if they need to be supported in the process.
- Choice: everyone should be able to make choices, especially the major ones. People want a real say in what happens in their life such as where to live, where to work, where to spend their leisure time and who looks after and supports them.
- Inclusion: living in and being part of a local community. Making use of mainstream provision.
What are some of the problems and issues being faced by people with learning disabilities at the time of transition?
- Post-school: people with learning disabilities have been victim to low expectations i.e. special school is followed by special needs further education, which is followed by day centre. The amount of suitable further education provision can vary from area to area. There may not be enough course places. There is confusing regulation and information surrounding funding for such further education and training. Training schemes can appear to have limited places and insecure funding. People may only be able to attend such schemes for a limited time and, because of a person's learning disability, this may not be long enough. State benefits become complicated or possibly lost by attending full time education or training schemes. People with high support needs often leave school at 19 years and find it more difficult to get further educational opportunities.
- Choices and decision making: making choices depends on being given information and options. The risk for people with learning disabilities is they are given little information. This information may also not be accessible and there may be few or no options regarding services. Young people with learning disabilities are likely to be passive and accepting of adults and carers around them. They may have little experience of being able to choose or advocate for themselves. MENCAP's 'Trans-active' project helps learning disabled teenagers to think about their future and take an active part in its planning. It uses peer group support from non-disabled young people and multimedia technology. Buddies, mentors, advocates and family members may be needed to support a person when making their choices.
- Health: once leaving the network of paediatric services, medical support in the adult sector is likely to be far patchier. Services or consultations appear to be provided on a referral basis regarding specific problems and there is less emphasis on general monitoring and check-ups. Diagnostic overshadowing can result in a person's learning disability being seen as 'their only problem' with less attention given to other health needs. There are increasing numbers of people with complex health and support needs who require a combination of health and support services in order to access a good quality of life - providing this 'seamless' service appears to be difficult on occasions.
- Community Support Services: moving to be a consumer in adult services, the user can meet numerous re-assessment processes and different adult eligibility criteria. There are often charges for adult services and personal support. The support of comprehensive child care legislation ceases and is replaced by legal regulation relating to adults and disability. This appears not so extensive and at times provides ambiguity e.g. the law around consent and mental capacity (this particular question is clearer in Scotland with the Adults with Incapacity Act).
In the way some special schools can appear to act as a focus for general day-to-day support for families, such places are not so readily identifiable in the adult sector. College and day services for adults are likely to be limited to a few days per week.
Those people who have communication difficulties need extensive support at the time of transition as they are likely to be losing contact with those who may have known them for years and who understand them. Additional to understanding overt communication, such 'keyworkers' are also likely to possess all sorts of 'informal' knowledge about the person which will aid comprehension for others. 'Talking Mats' (Cameron and Murphy), a low-tech pictorial system, has been used to help some young people give their views about transition and the future.
- Housing and Accommodation: options to leave home and one's parents are conditional on accommodation being available in such places as social housing schemes or a group home. There is a shortage of suitable housing, particularly wheelchair accessible. Such housing when available may be in segregated schemes. Those who have complex health needs and require high support services, and similarly those who show challenging behaviour, are at a greater disadvantage and residential care appears to be their main presented option. People who have rare medical conditions, autistic disorder or sensory disability may have to leave their local area to find a residential resource.
Shared purchase schemes for the learning disabled are few in number.
Not everyone wants to be in their own home and some would prefer to be in a family type setting. However, the introduction of new inspection and registration criteria have had consequences for those people who provide adult and family placements. Many have felt overwhelmed by extensive regulations which they feel impact on providing an 'ordinary life in a family environment' and have ultimately withdrawn from providing such a service.
- State benefits: these remain complex and confusing to most people. Various benefits can inter-react in ways people do not realise and, where one social problem is solved, another can be created in the benefit system. A poverty trap can emerge whereby you can be better off receiving benefits than finding work which may be lowly paid. Where a recipient is able to secure better pay, their assessed financial contribution for community care personal assistance may be substantial and thereby provide an economic disincentive to work.
Disability Living Allowance is seen as an important benefit because it is not means-tested and therefore available to those in work.
- Relationships and social life: friendships are important to all people but many people with learning disabilities continue to live in adulthood with their parents and adopt a lifestyle a generation on from their own. Whilst school friendships naturally dissolve for all of us, they are usually replaced by others from different networks such as work, leisure and education. In all these areas, there are likely to be reduced opportunities for people who are learning disabled. Transport problems can impact greatly on enjoying a social life and maintaining friendships.
Young people want to find out more and are interested about sex. Many adults are uneasy about young people with learning disabilities being given this sort of knowledge. As such, they might have had limited formal sex education and have informally experienced sexuality presented in a negative or possibly repressed context. They may have little awareness of such things as consent, contraception, safe sex and STDs which in turn can increase their vulnerability.
Marriage is still relatively rare and 'planned parenthood' has many care and support implications for both parents and child.
- Work: having paid employment is seen as important not only for income but also in terms of social status and being a full citizen. If employment is in a work scheme, there is often little job mobility potential to other schemes or open employment.
It is not common to see people with learning disability in work who also have their own personal assistance. Charges for personal assistance may make it uneconomic to consider employment. Where people do access forms of work or work schemes, it often has close links to the public or voluntary sector.
The Learning Disability Task Force states in its report, 'Rights, Independence, Choice and Inclusion' (January 2004), that the government should look at funding programmes which actually get people into work rather than 'getting people ready for work'. Some people have spent a long time 'getting ready for work'. They also felt many Learning and Skills Council programmes were not helping people with learning disabilities because they concentrated on getting qualifications rather than acquiring the skills needed for a particular job.
Transport difficulties are seen as a major barrier to obtaining and staying in employment.
Connexions
This service was established to provide an integrated advice and guidance programme, with access to personal development opportunities, for all 13-19 year olds in order to assist them in making a smooth transition towards adult life. One of the key aspects of this programme is the role and work of the Personal Advisor. The Personal Advisor provides a range of support which includes learning and employment options, helping with problems regarding family and friends, and having access to a range of other specialist support facilitators (e.g. counsellors). The Learning Disability Task Force states in its report of January 2004 that it has been in discussion with Connexions and Personal Advisors are to be given more training about learning disabilities. See separte section on
