Advice for families transitioning to Adult Services

The transition from children’s services to adult services creates vast amounts of anxiety for families with disabled children as they are facing changes, new services, and new people. Diverse Abilities, Dorset’s Disability Charity, hold regular advice sessions to help guide families through the process.

Diverse Abilities supports children and adults with physical and learning disabilities, and wants to make the process easier for families interacting with all the services involved in providing their support and care.

The charity has 3 sessions planned for the next academic year:

• Wednesday 18th November 2026
• Wednesday 17th March 2027
• Wednesday 23rd June 2027

All sessions are between 10.30am-12pm, and are held at Melton Court, 37 Lindsay Road, Branksome, Poole, BH13 6BH.

The morning will be a chance to meet with professionals from the NHS, BCP Council and Diverse Abilities, as well as other charities and organisations in the Dorset area. It is also a chance to speak with other parents and carers who may be experiencing similar situations and challenges.

Lynda Larke from Diverse Abilities commented: “It’s great to get families together and help them to get the support they need. When children reach 18, their families are at a cliff edge, everything they have known in terms of funding and healthcare provisions ends, and the process begins all over again, so we’re here to help make that transition as seamless as possible.”

Those interested in attending can register their interest at diverseabilities.org.uk/transitionsdropin, where questions can also be submitted ahead of the event.