Preparing for adulthood and the transitions that come with it is an exciting time when a young person moves from childhood into the world of adulthood.

Transition is now often called preparing for adulthood and takes place between the ages of 14 to 25.  To make this as smooth and as successful as possible, we recommend early planning. If you are a parent or carer looking for support with preparing your child for adulthood and transitions please visit PACA's preparing for adulthood guide.

Although this is an exciting time, some young people may find preparing for adulthood worrying or overwhelming. 

The key things to focus on when preparing for adulthood are:

• education, training or employment
• independent living
• being part of the community
• having good physical and emotional health

You could use this outcome template to start thinking about what it is you would like to work towards in the four areas.

When to start preparing

Planning for your prep for adulthood begins when you start to becoming more independent. At school you might be having more conversations about your future and thinking about what you might want to achieve, we have more information about education, money, health and making friends on our support for young people pages. In year 9 when you Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) gets reviewed, your family and teachers might ask you to answer some questions to think about your future. This is to support you in planning and to help you reach your goals.

You might find NDTI's person-centred planning booklet useful. It is specifically designed to find out what is important to a young person and the support they need.

What next?

Have a look through our pages under support for young people on this website, here you can find information that you may find useful in helping to prepare for adulthood. If you are unsure about anything or would like some more information please give us a call on our SEND Support line or email us.

Information that might be helpful

NDTI have put together some resources that you, or an adult who supports you, might find useful when thinking about preparing for adulthood.

• One Page Profile
• What Matters Island
• Inclusion Web
• Good Day / Bad Day
• Perfect Week
• Decision Making Profile
• Communication Passport
• Matching Support
• Presence to Contribution

The National Autistic Society have put together a guide to help you with making decisions.

• Making decisions - a guide for young people. 

Georgie talks about her one page profile about her transition from primary, to secondary to college.

Transition to Adult Care 

What do we mean by transitioning when your child is involved in health and/or social care services?

Transition is the process of preparing to move from children's to adult services. It is a gradual process that gives your child, family and everyone involved in their care time to get ready and discuss their healthcare needs as an adult. Please find further information on our Transitions from children to adult social care page. 

BLMK Healthier Together website have information on the the transition to adult care.