Supporting older children

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Growing Up and Making Decisions

Your child is becoming a young adult. The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service would like to help young people on our caseload to join in with important decisions about their future.

• Between the ages of 14-16 may help them to practise decision-making. For example we might ask them to decide what to work on in therapy.
• From age 16 we will follow the Mental Capacity Act. The law says that we must ‘have regard’ to this Act.
  • The therapist has to decide if the young person has the capacity to make their own decisions about therapy.
  • Young people with capacity have to give permission for us to share information about their therapy with parents and other people.
  • For young people with capacity, we can only liaise with parents if the young person allows us to do so. We can only provide intervention with the young person’s consent.

The Mental Capacity Act says that we must follow 5 key principles:

1. We have to assume that young people can make their own decisions; unless someone can prove that they cannot do this.
2. We have to take every step possible to help them to make their own decisions.
3. We cannot say the young person is unable to make a decision just because they make an unwise decision.
4. If we decide that the young person cannot make a decision then we must make any decisions in their best interests.
5. If we make a decision to do something, we must do it in a way that is the least restrictive for the young person.

For more information about the Mental Capacity Act, please read:

• Mental Capacity Act 2005 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/pdfs/ukpga_20050009_en.pdf

NHS Speech and Language Therapy Services in Barnsley

 Barnsley Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service work in episodes of care. Young people can access Children’s Speech and Language Therapy until their 18^th birthday.  They will then be discharged from this service.

Some young people will not require further speech and language therapy support. Other young people do need more help.  From their 18^th birthday onwards, they may be referred to adult services.  Referrals can be made by the young person, parents, schools or other services.  These adult services may be in Barnsley or elsewhere in the country.  This will depend on where the young person goes after leaving school or college.

There are 2 NHS services for adults with speech and language therapy needs in Barnsley:

• The general Speech and Language Therapy service for adults. The contact number is 01226 644537.
• The Speech and Language Therapy service for adults with learning disabilities. The contact number is 01226 645237.

Young people must meet the criteria for these services. You can find out more information from these departments.

 Moving from Children’s Services to Adults’ Services

 Barnsley Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service can help with the move to adult services.

• We will provide a written report when the young person is discharged from the Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service.

• If a young person moves directly to adult services, we will liaise with the relevant adult service before the move. We can offer a joint visit with a therapist from the new service. Please ask your Therapist to arrange this.

• We will include this information about changing services in any annual review reports and discharge reports from year 9 to leaving school.

Adult services  in Barnsley are:

Adult community speech and language therapy – Adult community speech and language therapy

Barnsley adult learning disability health service –    Adult learning disability service