Young people with additional support needs and their families often experience poor co-ordination and planning for the move from school into adult life. It can be a time of distress, disappointments and disillusionments. Their aspirations for a valued life in the community may not be realised. (Scottish Transitions Forum, 2013).
Self-directed support offers the potential for this to change. With a self-directed support budget agreed during the last year of school, young people, their families and staff can work together to plan for the move into adult life.
In this pathway we worked with young people with additional support needs, their families and the commissioners and deliverers of social care and education services in South Glasgow. We faciltated co-design workshops during the last year at school for the young people (school year 2014/15). We designed how self-directed support can be used as a tool to create happier and more fulfilled lives for these young people.