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Scotland - Know who can Help

There are a range of people that may be available to provide you with advice. Any of these could be a starting point to signpost you to sources of support.

Voluntary organisations provide a range of information, support and advice. Some provide general information (e.g. Enable, PAMIS, Contact A Family, Capability Scotland, SCLD etc), and some provide more specialised information for people with specific needs.

The specific support that the Challenging Behaviour Foundation can provide for families caring for sons/daughters with severe learning disabilities who are described as having challenging behaviour is explained in the section 'Whats Next'.

Transition support

It would be misleading to say that there is a comprehensive support network of services available to people once they have left school. There is no single organization in Scotland responsible for post-school transition of people with a learning disability.

Your Social Worker or Care Manager will be a key person who can co-ordinate the process and ensure that all those who should be involved are included. They will be able to provide information about local services and support.

One of the principle recommendations of The same as you? is the development of Local Area Co-ordinators (LACs). Local Area Co-ordination is a partnership between individuals, their families, communities as a whole, and service providers. LACs support individuals and families and work with communities to be more inclusive. Unfortunately not all areas in Scotland have LACs – only 59 had been appointed across Scotland (March 2006), so the service is still patchy. Where LACs have been appointed there is plenty of evidence to suggest they have made a significant difference to people’s lives. To find out if there is a LAC in your area please see the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability (SCLD) website www.scld.org.uk , Tel. 0141 418 5420.

Some areas have specialist Transition Workers who aim to provide a range of support including advice for parents. Your local transition worker may be attached to the children with learning disabilities team, the adult team or the transition team within Social Work, and should ensure that there is good communication between the children and adult teams.

Each Local Authority and NHS Board is responsible for providing a Partnership in Practice report (PiP) which brings together all that is happening in your area for people with learning disabilities and their families. In the PiP report there should be information on opportunities available to people once they have left school. Your local Council will be able to provide your local PiP report.