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Craig's story
"Right up until the end we were happy with the transition process. Meetings had gone well, a college and course had been identified with Craig going on a successful day placement. We were 100% sure Craig would get a place but just before leaving school we were told that he wasn't suitable for the life skills course after all as he didn't have enough life skills to cope!
At the last minute another college was looked at. Craig did a day a week and it all seemed great. We were told that Craig would get a place and that it would be confirmed in writing. But when school broke for summer we hadn't received anything. Cue chaos. I couldn't give Craig the assurance he needed because there was no written confirmation. And of course no one at the school to speak to about it. This was very stressful for him. He became very difficult to live with, frustrated, angry and anxious. Which put a big strain on the whole family. We had to cancel our holiday. The summer was a total nightmare.
I told a Sense Scotland support worker about it all. She made one phone call and the college confirmed Craig's place but we needed to fill in the forms - the forms the school had forgottent to post to us. A moment's forgetfulness caused all those problems. But it is typical of the lack of understanding of the impact of such things and failure to appreciate how Craig's emotional state would be affected. It's not a game. We all want our children to go forward. Leaving school and going to college is such a big step for any young person. I needed to trust that Craig would be safe, that all arrangements were in place. And the system let us down. Badly."
Linda, mother of Craig, 17 year old with autism
"Successful transition from childhood to adulthood for young people with disabilities, and their families, means finding out what they want to do with their lives and what support they need to get there. They have the same rights as other young peopleto choose to move on to work, training or more education. They want to enjoy the same life chances and experiences. Local authorities have a duty to make that happen with the least amount of fuss and stress."
