This tipsheet is for parents who are looking for tips from other families about transitioning a child with a disability into adult services.
- Start with your family first and involve the child in as many steps as possible
- Involve the child who is transitioning in setting goals and what options they would want to consider as they become an adult (e.g. day program, housing, post-secondary school, job training, etc.)
- What kind of future do you see?
- Who will the child be with?
- Where will the child live?
- What does the child want to do?
- Start early, but take one step at a time
- Don’t feel like you have to know everything right away or feel like there can be only one plan – things change!
- Families find that it is most helpful to start looking at services when their child is 16 years of age.
- This time is used to better understand and digest all of the options and processes.
- Familiarize yourself with the adult service system
- Create a list of questions that you might have.
- Ask your clinicians for transition information.
- Look for more resources online or through 211.
- Create your own specialized resources
- Find resources and keep a list of them.
- Network for ideas – ask other families about what they did and what their child might be doing currently.
- Extend your research about resources into the community.
- Ask: what is out there, which people can help, and how can you connect with these resources.
- Form social support networks
- Some families start with informal connections, at first, to form a base for more closer relationships.
- Gradually form an intentional network with people who can help advance the vision of your son/daughter.
- The more people involved with your family member, the fewer the risks. The support network acts as a safety net as well as a “Dream Machine”.
- Consider a Person Directed Plan. You can find Person Directed Planners at places such as Community Living and Partners for Planning.
- See your records as an ongoing resource
- Put your resources into one area.
- Keep contact information (like staff names, job titles, agencies, contact methods) in one place.
- Store reports, recommendations and important communication from services in this place.
- Encourage your child to be as involved with this as possible (e.g. opening letters, writing an ‘all about me’ profile, keeping things together).
- Remember that it doesn’t hurt to try
- It might be scary to transition out of services that the child has been through for a long time.
- As you keep trying new things, it might get easier.
- It’s important to remember that trying new things is your first step to a ‘new normal’.
These tips were created in partnership by a family member and a Family Resource Centre staff. Last edited in May 2018.
