Let the young person shape the move to adult services

What we found in the news

NICE’s February 2016 guidance on moving from children’s to adults’ health or social care services asks teams to keep checking:

“how they would like their parents or carers to be involved throughout their transition”

The recommendation includes checking involvement after the move to adult services. The guidance places the young person’s preferences within ongoing planning, with relevant capacity and legal considerations. It is UK guidance, not evidence that one transition model suits every service. Read the NICE recommendations (opens in a new tab).

Why this matters to us

A service may see a transfer date. The young person may see a new building, an unfamiliar professional, and several questions they have not yet had space to ask.

Parents or other supporters may be adjusting too. Someone who has handled appointments for years may wonder what their role will become. A young adult may want more privacy in one conversation and familiar help in another. Both realities can be acknowledged without making assumptions about who speaks for whom.

For care teams, this is a coordination task with a human center. Information needs to move, but the young person also needs a meaningful part in deciding how support will work.

Start with the young person’s own agenda

Consider an illustrative planning meeting for a young adult moving to a new service. They bring a notebook with questions about appointment times and fitting visits around college. A supporter has questions about contact arrangements. Both sets of questions deserve a place; the young person’s own priorities should not disappear underneath the administrative checklist.

The team can ask what they want explained first, how they prefer information to be shared, and whether they want part of the conversation on their own. Communication support may be needed to make those choices usable.

This does not mean expecting someone to manage every appointment immediately. Independence should not become a requirement to navigate unfamiliar systems without help.

Make introductions more than a name on paper

A transfer letter may identify the next service without making it feel approachable. Teams can consider what introduction is possible, who can explain the first appointment, and how an unresolved question will reach the right person.

The practical details are often modest: where to go, which contact route is monitored, what happens if an appointment clashes with work or study, and which team is responsible during a gap.

An illustrative introduction might let the young person meet the new coordinator before the first full appointment. Where that is not possible, a clear explanation and a reliable contact can still be planned. The service should describe what it can actually offer, rather than promise continuity it cannot provide.

Revisit who is involved

Preferences can change as the young person gains familiarity with the new team. A decision made at the first planning meeting should not automatically determine every later conversation.

Teams need an agreed way to check involvement and record relevant permissions. They should explain any limits clearly and follow the applicable consent, capacity, confidentiality, and safeguarding requirements. Family support remains valuable when wanted and appropriate; the point is to ask rather than assume.

The young person may also choose a different trusted supporter. A transition plan should have room for that relationship, not only the people already listed on an old form.

The genus connection

Today, configured genus communities can support calendar arrangements, agreed tasks, and communication among authorized people. These functions can help organize the practical parts of a transition: preparing questions, checking an appointment, or tracking who will make the next introduction.

They do not establish eligibility for adult services or determine consent and decision-making rights. Those responsibilities remain with the relevant services and professionals. Our design interest is in helping a shared plan stay understandable while the young person’s role and preferences remain visible.

A move between services is also a change in relationships. The plan should make room for that.

One question to take away

If a young person read your transition plan, would they recognize their own priorities and choices about who supports them?