This page includes information about how we work with you on:
- EHCP school reviews
- Give your voice
- Getting to know you
- Occupational Therapy support
- Plan and review your support
- Helpful technology
Your EHCP school reviews
Our SEND Team will lead on reviewing your Education, Health and Social Care Plan (also known as an EHCP). However, if we know about you and you are on our pathway, the Transition Team may take part in your EHCP School Reviews, from Year 9. This will help us hear about your plans, answer any questions about Adult Social Care, give advice and guidance and start to think about any support you might need once you are 18.
They should give you and your family time to look into the best options available in your local area.
Your voice
It is important to the Transition Team that we hear your views on your life and on your future. It is, after all, your life.
The Mental Capacity Act is a very important law. This law says that every adult, whatever their disability, has the right to make their own decisions wherever possible.
Everything that the Transition Team do must follow what the Mental Capacity Act says.
This means providing information, time, and support to allow young people to make their own decisions, where they are able.
If you need support to share your views, you may benefit from advocacy. Advocacy is a fancy word for helping people to speak for themselves. Advocates don't speak on behalf of people with a learning disability – they make sure a person's own voice is heard. This can be somebody close to you like your parents or we can refer to a professional advocate if that is better for you.
If you would like to speak to someone in the Transition Team about your views please call us on 01276 800270 or email transitionteam@surreycc.gov.uk
Learn more about the The Mental Capacity Act.
Getting to know you
Your Adult Social Care Assessment
After you turn 17, and if you might require support from Adult Social Care, the Transition Team will arrange a meeting to get to know you and understand your hopes and plans for when you turn 18. We can have this meeting at a time and place of your choice with those you want to help you with this meeting.
At the meeting we can explore what practical support you might need to reach your life goals and be as independent as possible.
This may include:
- support to complete daily living tasks;
- education and training;
- getting ready for employment, and finding a job; and
- taking part in activities and getting out and about in your local community and beyond.
You may also need advice from our occupational therapists for practical things to keep you moving or help with doing activities which you may find difficult.
The tool we use to record this information is called an Adult Social Care Assessment.
When your assessment is complete, we will tell you if you are eligible for funded support from Adult Social Care. And if not, we will also make sure you have information to help you.
Getting ready for your Adult Social Care Assessment
We know these meetings can be overwhelming and these might seem like big questions and you may not know all the answers to everything.
The information below can help you prepare by thinking about the questions.
The Transition Team will help you and your family through this process. We will always make sure you have someone to help you during these conversations and, if your ideas and plans change, then we will update the information at regular intervals.
We will always make sure you have a copy of your Adult Social Care Assessment for you to keep.
Occupational Therapy Support
Occupational therapists provide practical support to people experiencing difficulty doing the activities that are meaningful to them. Occupational therapists work in a variety of settings and specialisms. Our occupational therapists provide a service to 18- 25 year olds who are known to the Transition Team. We complete specialist assessments which focus on daily living activities, your wellbeing and independence, and your physical and social environment. The solutions we offer focus on:
- providing advice
- practicing different ways of doing an activity
- the use of technology
- provision of equipment or minor adaptations
- supporting you, and those who help you, with moving and handling
- occasionally, making recommendations to your local district or borough council for major structural adaptations to your home.
You will get support from an occupational therapist alongside your adult social care assessment and support planning process.
With your permission our occupational therapists will also liaise with family, school, social work, health and other professionals to share assessment information.
Planning and reviewing your support
Support plan
After your assessment, we will tell you if you can receive funded support from Adult Social Care. At this point we will make a plan together. This is called a support plan.
A support plan will include all the information to show how we can help you reach your life goals and what support you will need to get there.
The Transition Team will work with you to find the right support to do the things you want to do. We will work with you and those who support you and are important to you, to create your support plan. We want you to be at the centre of the plan and to hear what is important to you.
The plan might include:
- care and support to do everyday things
- the support you need to continue your education
- the support you need to explore paid or unpaid work opportunities
- help with finances
- taking part in activities to get you out and about
- help with decisions about where you want to live
- relationships or wellbeing advice.
The kinds of support that your plan could include are:
- Help from your friends and family
- support available in your community
- and tech-enabled care (things like apps that can help you plan and do the things you need to do).
If you need a personal assistant to make your plan work, we may be able to pay you so that you can pay someone to help you. We can also pay someone acting on your behalf. This is called a Direct Payment.
Use Connect to Support Surrey to find support and activities in your community.
Reviewing your support
Once your support plan has started, we will check how your plan is working.
These checks are called reviews. The reviews help us to update the support plan if anything changes as you go through transition to adulthood.
We will ask you questions such as
- Is your plan helping you to achieve the things you wanted to?
- Is there anything else you would like to achieve?
- What would you like to change?
Reviews can happen whenever you talk to the Transition Team – it doesn't always have to be a 'big' meeting. What really matters is that everything is working for you, and for those who are important in your life. There are many ways we can do this.
If there are any big changes for you, we can make a new Adult Social Care Assessment. This might be when you:
- leave or college or finish a course
- get new skills or confidence
- want to try new things
- want to move home
Helpful technology
Digital development is constantly evolving especially assistive technology to help those with disabilities. Here find some apps to help support young people and their families.
We can give you a licence for some of the below if you are eligible for adult social care - some can be purchased privately if not eligible. Speak to your social care team if you feel this could work for you.
Brain in Hand
Brain in Hand helps people to live more independently.
Cost: Chargeable
AutonoMe
AutonoMe is a virtual support provider designed to improve the lives of vulnerable people.
Cost: Chargeable
Hear me now
Hear Me Now enables people to:
- capture what matters to them in a single user-friendly place
- add content in their preferred format: text, images, audio or video
- share information with carers and health professionals.
Cost: Free
Abilia
Abilia simplify peoples' everyday lives regardless of their need. They want to give people with special needs the chance to participate and be independent.
Cost: Free
Be my eyes
Be My Eyes is an app that connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers and company representatives for visual assistance through a live video call.
Cost: Free
Wheelmap
Wheelmap allows you to mark and find wheelchair accessible places-worldwide.
Cost: Free
LetMeTalk
LetMeTalk is a free augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app that provides everyone with a voice, including those who can't speak. The app allows you to line up images in a meaningful way to be read as a sentence.
Available on the App Store and for Android.
Cost: Free
MyChoicePad
MyChoicePad is a language and communication app that uses Makaton symbols (a simple type of sign language), signs and signing videos in addition to your own photos and audio.
Available on: ITunes (iPad only)
Cost: Free (with in-app purchases)
Find more information about useful equipment and technology to help you stay independent.
