Some of the services that have helped you so far may stop at age 16 or 18, therefore it is important to plan how health needs will be met, and by whom, in the future.
While you are still in school, you can access support through our Healthy Child programme. You can ask your school for the named contact.
Help to stay healthy
The following resources may be useful:
- The North Yorkshire community directory, North Yorkshire Connect, lists health services in your area.
- Our SEND health and care page has lots of health information for young people.
- Find information about health issues, from drugs, alcohol and smoking, to sexual health and contraception on our healthy living page.
- The Transition Taskforce hub seeks to overcome the barriers to good transitions for young people approaching adulthood with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
Sight or hearing support
If you have a sight or hearing difficulty, a social care needs assessment will allow us to assess whether you would benefit from care services. We can also provide information and advice to help you maintain your independence as well as training for any specialist equipment which can help you in your everyday life. You can find more details on the hearing and vision impairment section.
Telecare and help to live independently at home
There are lots of ways we can help you to be independent if you live on your own. Information can be found on our disabled people - independence at home page. If you have difficulties managing in your own home, it might be possible to offer home adaptations and aids to help you to live independently. An occupational therapist, or someone from health and adult services, might be able to visit your home to discuss your needs. The therapist can also provide information about grant schemes and/or support.
One example of a system that might help you is Telecare. This uses a range of sensors to assist you in living at home. They can be linked to a communication system that is used to summon help if it's needed. It can alert you to certain situations, for example, reminding you to take medication. It can also alert family, friends, carers or the emergency services to dangerous situations, for example, if you suffer a fall. For more information visit our telecare page.
You can find more details of the support you may receive in the social care for adults section.
Hate crime and 'mate crime'
People with a learning disability may suffer from hate crime or a type of disability hate crime called 'mate crime'.
Most friends really are friends, but sometimes people might pretend to be your friend. People who commit 'mate crimes' might be nice to your face. These people are often not rude, violent or aggressive, nor do they steal your things. They pretend to be nice to you.
The Safety Net website has advice on how to tell if someone is being a real friend.
Easy read hate crime and mate crime guidance from the ARC UK charity provides information about these crimes and how to prevent and report them.
Be safe online
Social media and the internet are good ways to keep in touch with friends and family, especially if you go off to do different things when you leave school. It is important to make sure that you are safe online.
- The Anti-bullying Alliance's cyberbullying page contains information on how to protect yourself against online bullying
- The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre website is a place for you to report if you are worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online
- Thinkuknow, the education programme from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), helps protect children both online and offline. The Thinkuknow website has advice about staying safe when you're on a phone, tablet or computer
The transition between children's and adult health services
Planning for the future
As your child gets older, they may be able to start making their own decisions about a lot of things that matter most to them, this includes their health and wellbeing.
Children’s and adult health services are organised differently. If your young person has lots of health needs, there may be many changes to how they receive their health care and support as an adult.
Health teams such as those in your local doctor's surgery or hospitals can help them become more independent in managing their own health and moving from children's health services to adult ones. In healthcare, we sometimes call this 'transition'. Transition can be individualised to meet their needs by clinicians and professionals involved.
It is important to start thinking about the transition for your child as they move from childhood to adulthood and the services they access. This can be done from the ages of 14-18.
You should involve your young person’s general practitioner in planning the transition to adult health services because they will become more closely involved when your young person turns 18.
To find out more visit:
- The Transition: moving into adult care document has information for young people and families.
- more information on transitions can be found on the NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group website