Lost in transition

Despite good practice guidelines having been available for some years, transition from children’s to adult social services can still be a traumatic time for young people with learning disabilities and their families. Editor Dan Parton reports news in depth Deborah Meldrew is worried her son, who has autism and a severe language disorder, turns 18 in December and she is unsure what social care provision will be available to him from his local authority in South London after his birthday. For instance, her son attends a respite service for under 18s. “You would think that by October [at the time