Growing up can be both daunting and exciting. Adolescents face many changes: their bodies change and their feelings change too. Like all teenagers and young adults, those with disabilities will go through the usual ups and downs of adolescence, however, many may experience more health problems compared to their non-disabled peers. Also, the greater the disability, the more likely the person will have additional health needs such as epilepsy, mobility problems and sensory deficit such as auditory or visual difficulties.
Emotional difficulties are not uncommon amongst adolescents and some young people with disabilities may go through mild and brief periods of being anxious or depressed. Some of the more obvious triggers can be due to changes in school and the loss of friends, seeing siblings moving on and being victimised or bullied. Occasionally, some young people may experience longer or more serious difficulties and will need specialist help.
There is help available to address these issues, including the use of approaches such as health action planning and person centred planning. Both these are addressed in this section along with other various aspects of health and well-being.
Some important issues are:
Mental Health:
Transition can be a difficult time for any young person, but for young people experiencing mental health problems in addition to a disability it can be even tougher and the distress can escalate. One in four young people with learning disabilities experiences mental health problems. This needs to be recognised by staff and carers, and the appropriate support given.
Knowing what that support might be, and the most fruitful way of providing it, is not always easy. The information listed here should provide some practical advice and examples.
Person centred approaches:
Person centred planning (PCP) is a way to address the health and well-being of young people going through the transition. A PCP is an excellent way to help the young person think about where they want to go after leaving school or college. It addresses their strengths and also health and mental health needs too.
There are links to some examples of how person centred planning has helped young people and their families.
Sexual health:
Sex and relationships education (SRE) is an important part of the curriculum for all children and young people. Those with mild, moderate and severe learning difficulties are no exception. Listed here are some organisations and fact-sheets you should find useful to equip you and your child on how to address this area.
Click on a sub-category on the left hand side for further information.