At Perth Autism Support we are aware that there can be a lack of support for young people from 14 to 18 years old for transition into adult services, employment or further/higher education, and this is exactly why we introduced our young adult service.
This service aims to provide an individualised plan tailored to each young person’s individual transition needs and requirements.
We recognise the anxiety that young people and their families may face during this transition time as we can appreciate any change can be daunting.
The aim of the young adult service is to provide a single point of contact to support the young person through their transition, allowing a more natural progression so that the change can be at a pace specifically tailored to suit the young person and their family.
Our young adult service is completely flexible to the needs of each individual so the type of support can be wide and varied!
It can include:
Check out the tabs below to learn more about our services!
Hopefully you are already registered with Perth Autism Support, but if not that is the first step!
If you would like to just access the group social activities then that’s all you need to do at this stage.
To access any individual support
We will get the young person and/or their family to complete a Young Adult application form (online or over the phone) so we know what type of help you would be looking for.
Referrals can also be made by schools, college and other youth services.
We then arrange to meet with the young person, who can be supported by a parent/carer, teacher or support worker. We can arrange to talk over the phone, on a video call or face to face, whichever the young person is most comfortable with, to go over the options of support and agree with the young person which would be the most beneficial approach.
‘PAS has always been amazing. Each activity has been adventurous, entertaining and overall a great experience in their own unique way. Throughout the years I have had chances of trying new things with the right support for me from the brilliant staff.’
‘Thank you so much for supporting me over the years. It has been an amazing and wonderful experience packed with laughs, adventures and lots of memories. If it wasn’t for the amazing support from PAS I would not be the same person I am today.’
‘When I needed help with * about specific issues despite not being able to support * specifically themselves PAS helped get me in contact with different organisations who did this type of training. However at the time * was not willing to attend so a member of the PAS young adult team went on the training herself so she could deliver it.’
‘PAS has supported with transitions it has been helpful that as * has progressed, PAS has also been evolving at the same stages e.g. young adult group, transitions, work experience, pop up experiences (transport, money etc).
When * has had bad days and struggled to come in for a while staff members have been good at slowly reintroducing him in. for example start with a 5 minute visit, 1 to 1s. PAS and the young adult team are great at catering to the individual and for doing what is best for that specific young person
YAS – The Young Adults Social Group is run weekly during term time. This is held either in the Perth Autism Support centre or at a local venue depending on the activity we are doing. We also use the social group as an opportunity to link up with other local services within the community whether that is with the adult autism services or one of the local sports venues. Currently through Covid-19, we are offering online sessions with a variety of different activities such as quizzes, escape rooms, baking and mini challenges.
Small Steps – We have created a new social group, Small Steps, for our young adults as we know how important
it is to have social interactions in a safe place. This group will be smaller than our usual young
adult social group with no more than 6 young people and shorter sessions of 1 hour, all based
in the familiar environment of Perth Autism Support. This would be an ideal group for your
young person if they have high anxiety, struggle with social interaction and would benefit from a
small social setting.
Fitness Class– We currently run a Young Adult fitness session at Allstrong Scotland once a week who take part in closed sessions with Andy Douglas the instructor. The class lasts for an hour in total. There is 35-40 minutes of exercise, which will include a warm-up at the start and each exercise will be talked through and demonstrated before doing them. There are 8-12 stations, and you will stay at each for a set amount of time and optional rests in between each station. Then there will be 10 minutes of full-body stretching to relax and release tension and focus on deep breathing. Finally, there will be 10 minutes of guided relaxation and mindfulness, which focuses on breathing exercises.
Our young people work directly with the same member of staff on a personalised plan that has been tailored to the young person’s needs.
This could be:
Get in touch directly with Young Adult Services at Perth Autism Support by filling out the contact form on the right.
01738 451 081
transitions@perthautismsupport.org.uk