Introduction

This chapter will explore the nature of transition from childhood to adulthood for one particularly vulnerable group of young people – those with learning disabilities. It will outline their experiences of transition before examining policy responses in relation to these experiences.

The process of transition has become increasingly complex for all young people. This can be ascribed to structural factors such as the collapse of the youth labour market, increased participation in further and higher education, changing family composition and a lack of affordable housing (Jones, 2002; Furlong et al, 2003). The transition from childhood to adulthood involves:

• • leaving school and moving on to further education, training or employment;

• • leaving the family home and moving to a home of one's own;

• • leaving the family of origin and establishing a family of one's own.

When an individual has achieved these markers of adult status, they can be said to have made a successful transition to adulthood. Adulthood can be defined as:

As the above quote suggests, for young people with learning disabilities the transitional process is likely to be even more problematic and young people face a number of difficulties. According to Hudson (2006), the transition to adulthood for young people with learning disabilities is wider in scope, of longer duration and is filled with attenuated experiences. These experiences threaten to slow down the transition or result in it not taking place at all.

The transition to adult status should not be confused with the transition from children's to adult services. Young people with learning disabilities can expect to make transitions that involve local education authorities, children's social services, adult social care and in some cases paediatric and adult health services. This transition is a complicated process that occurs at different ages and involves different eligibility criteria, depending on which organisations are involved.

Defining learning disability

There is currently no nationally agreed definition of what constitutes a ‘learning disability’ (Diesfield, 1999; Klotz, 2001; Ho, 2004). Moreover, the terminology used varies according to preferences: for example, ‘learning disabilities’, ‘learning difficulties’, ‘intellectual disabilities’.