Physically disabled young adults 'Taking On and Taking Over' their care and support arrangements: experiences and practice implications

Personalised adult social care in England emphasises the aspirations and preferences of service users and the opportunity to take on more choice and control of one’s own care and support arrangements. However, both research... [ view full abstract ]

Personalised adult social care in England emphasises the aspirations and preferences of service users and the opportunity to take on more choice and control of one’s own care and support arrangements. However, both research and practice developments surrounding personalisation have tended to focus on some groups of social care users more than others, for example, older people or people with learning disabilities. In contrast, little is known about the specific needs and preferences of physically disabled young adults, despite this group being perhaps one of the most likely to aspire to manage their own care and support arrangements. Past research has shown that ‘one size fits all’ practice does not necessarily work but, practitioners report little experience of working with this group.

This presentation reports findings from a recently completed research study which aimed to identify the support needed by physically disabled young adults to achieve their preferred level of choice and control over their support arrangements. Drawing on empirical data from qualitative interviews with physically disabled young adults (aged 18-30 years) and parents, social care front-line staff and managers and voluntary sector representatives from a range of English local authorities, the presentation reports the facilitators (and barriers) that young adults faced and the practice strategies employed by practitioners. Key findings specific to the needs and preferences of physically disabled young adults are explored including young adults’ experiences of working with practitioners, the role of informal support and accessing relevant information. Practitioners’ own approaches to supporting young adults and their families are also discussed. A short video involving young adults and practitioners from the study will be shown; the video seeks to inform practitioners of key practice messages from the study. The researchers conclude by identifying some areas for further service development and considering their practice implications.