More about Transition Planning

Do all young people with autism have a Transition Plan?

A survey carried out by the National Autistic Society in 2006 (Make School Make Sense), highlighted that whilst it is widely recognised that support through transition is crucial to maximise the life chances of young people with autism, in reality many do not receive appropriate support. The survey revealed that only 53% of young people were issued with transition plans during the course of their education, falling to just 34% of students in mainstream schools. The input of adult social services is crucial to the viability of the transition plan, and yet adult social services were only involved in planning in 17% of cases.

Can parents ask for a transition planning meeting?

As stated in the SEN Code of Practice, all young people with a statement of SEN should have a transition plan drawn up at the year 9 review. Parents should write to their headteacher to request this if it is not forthcoming. If the young person does not have a statement of SEN, parents can still request a meeting to discuss transition, and should contact the headteacher and the Connexions Service.

How can the young person’s views be included in the process?

As stated in the SEN Code of Practice (2001) "the views of young people themselves should be sought and recorded wherever possible in any assessment, reassessment or review from year 9 onwards. PAs, student counsellors, advocates or advisers, teachers and other school staff, social workers or peer support may be needed to support the young person in the transition process.”

In seeking the views of the young person the individual needs must be understood and appropriate methods used to meaningfully involve the young person. This will take some time, planning and skills on behalf of the staff working with these young people.

The Autism Education Trust discusses these issues on its website: “Obviously children on the autism spectrum must be consulted appropriately about their preferences when it comes to transition, however, they can find it hard to make choices. Communication difficulties can also make it harder for such children to put their views across.”

The difficulties many people with autism have with social imagination means they may require specific support in thinking about the future and making plans. Many parents stress that their children would need help being realistic in their aspirations and understanding about what impact their needs may have on their future. The groundwork may be laid for this by offering work experience, and exposure to potential future settings and experiences.

You can read more on parents views about Transition in this document: TreeHouse submission of evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism Inquiry into Transition and Autism 13 February 2009 (PDF 41KB)