Moving house with our adult son

[GGHub]

Hi - we’re currently living in Kent with our son, late 20s, on autistic spectrum. He’s in supported living with quite a lot of support hours but comes home most weekends and we’re very involved in decisions and care. The current support provider manages day to day stuff (with reminders and encouragement from us) but they have no interest in the bigger picture (like his long-term needs and wellbeing). Coming up to retirement, we would like to move house and, for the reasons outlined, it’s essential our son comes with us.

What experience have others had of relocating with an adult child? What kind of input do local Care Management have in the decision? Are we likely to have a fight on our hands, basically!

We’re considering Wales (as well as various parts of England). How does that affect the process?

Finally, any general advice about getting information on supported living AND day services in different parts of the UK. Since information is often provided via Care Managers, it’s difficult to get this if you don’t already live in a place (although much easier with websites).

Any help starting this process would be appreciated, especially any of those “unknown unknowns” that we may not have considered!

[anne.t]

surely Kent is lovely, why move to Wales? Moving House is very stressful and to coordinate that with your sons needs will be even more stressful, so why not look to down size nearer where you are now and know people. Having said that people sometimes move and find that the support in a new area is out of this world so it is worth doing a few reccys !

[Lindyloo]

We too have an adult autistic son who lives in supported accommodation near to us. We have also considered moving to be closer to our other children. We however have made the decision that we need to stay nearer our son who cannot make there kind of relocation choices rather than move to be nearer our other kids who can. It’s a very individual choice but personally I wouldn’t upset things unless it was for completely unavoidable reasons

[margaret.gould]

Hi there,

I’m one of the information and advice officers on the learning disability helpline. We do hear from families in similar situations and I have some brief information for this post, but do contact the helpline on 0808 808 1111 if you need more in depth advice.

If your son wants to move to accommodation in a different local authority, for example to be close to you, it’s important to involve the original local authority in the care planning process and the decision to move.

However, if both local authorities are involved they must follow the legal framework set out in the Care Act 2014 when someone who has care and support needs moves to a new area.

20.2 Where the person chooses to live in a different local authority area, the local authority that is currently arranging care and support and the authority to which they are moving must work together to ensure that there is no interruption to the person’s care and support.

The bottom line is your son’s latest assessment of needs and how any eligible needs may be met. It’s a good idea to clearly state your son’s case to both local authorities and the reasons for his wish to move. It’s always good to do this in writing so that you have a paper trail of documented records of correspondence.

The local authorities will look at where your son is ‘ordinarily resident’ when they work out which of them has responsibility to fund his social care support.
The statutory guidance for the Care Act is on this link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance

Inter-authority moves and continuity of care is addressed in chapters 19 and 20.

Of course you also need to be sure that your son has the mental capacity to make this decision to move and that it is what he wants to do. There is more information about people’s rights and decision making here: www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/mental-capacity-act

When it comes to finding a particular care provider or support service for your son, most local authorities will have a list of services on their website.

You might also be interested in the directory of services on the National Autistic Society website: https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/directory.aspx#

I hope that helps in your planning!

Margaret