July21, 2022, Cambridge News: Young autistic people in Peterborough face 'cliff edge' in adulthood transition, reports show https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/young-autistic-people-peterborough-face-24553696
N. of London
Two new reports have revealed that young children aged between 16 and 18, with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), don't receive equal care when they transition to adult health services.
Despite the fact that the number of annual reviews completed are much improved, too many still do not take place when they should.
The educational needs of some children and young people (CYP), who may also have other conditions, as they move into adulthood, are not being met, as far as these new reports are concerned. These reports were presented to members of the Children and Education Scrutiny Committee at their meeting this month (July), both of which recommend "accelerated progress plans".
Jonathan Lewis, Peterborough City Council Service Director for Education explained: “The ‘Local Authority Accelerated Progress Plan Submission’ (LASEND) report and the ‘Peterborough Special Education Needs and Disability Service Performance’ (SEND) report both recommend acceleration of activities by the city council.
“While leaders at Peterborough City Council have shown great commitment to ensure planning, structure and systems in place to help these people achieve their goals, frontline health officials and some parents still believe a ‘cliff edge’ exists for some provision for 18-25 year olds.”
Officers at Peterborough City Council have been developing an Accelerated Progress Plan (APP), a draft copy of which was presented to the Department of Education, NHS England, and the Department of Health and Social Care on 24 May 2022 for feedback. It was determined during that meeting further detail was required to the milestones and key performance indicators/quantifiable impact measures to assist the Department of Education to judge the plans progress, success, and impact.
Peterborough City Council was required to submit the final APP by 17 June 2022, and while the timescale for approval is not yet known at this point, once the document has been approved the council are required to publish their plan so that children, young people, and families can understand the actions being taken.
Mr Lewis went on to add: “As a result of the feedback and focus on areas for development, the following significant weakness was deemed to not have made sufficient progress: The provision for young people aged 18 to 25 is not sufficiently developed to make sure that young people have the full range of opportunities and support that they need as they move through into adulthood. …
