As you get older, you start doing more to look after your own health. We will help you learn how to stay healthy and strong.
When you turn 14, we start to think about how to help you move from the children’s therapy teams to adult therapy teams.
Physiotherapy
When you leave school or college, you will stop seeing the children’s physiotherapy team and will need to access adult services when needed.
The main change is that you will not receive regular physiotherapy appointments. You will need to visit your GP if you have any particular concerns such as pain, changes in your posture, stiffness or difficulty moving.
Once the problem is better, the therapy will stop. If you need help again, you’ll need to start the process again with your GP or by contacting the service yourself.
Wheelchairs
- If you have a wheelchair and need a check or repair, you can contact the wheelchair service or the repair team directly.
- If you think you need a wheelchair but don’t have one yet, talk to your GP for a referral.
Orthotics (special shoes or supports)
- If you currently see a children’s physiotherapist, ask them for a review.
- If you’ve stopped but were seen in the last year, you can contact Bowley Close orthotics service yourself.
- If it’s been more than a year, talk to your GP for a new referral.
Equipment (like standing or walking frames)
- If you currently see a children’s physiotherapist, talk to them.
- If you are not seeing children’s physiotherapy anymore, you will need to contact the adult physiotherapy team.
- For home equipment (like bathroom equipment or rails), contact the occupational therapy team.
Speech and language therapy (SALT)
As you get older, you might still need help with:
- communicating and understanding, or
- eating and drinking safely.
If you had speech therapy at school, who can help now?
You’ve learned ways to help you communicate and understand. Keep using those tools and ideas!
Once you finish school or college, if you need support with eating, drinking or swallowing you will need to contact your GP.
If you have a feeding tube, the home enteral nutrition team will keep helping you.
If you use a communication aid and something isn’t working, you can contact the assistive communication service.
The adults community neuro speech and language team help people who’ve had a stroke, head injury, or brain condition and have trouble talking or swallowing. You or your GP can contact them.
If you have had help with eating and drinking, who can help now?
When you leave school or college, if you still need help with eating or swallowing you can:
- talk to your GP
- contact the adults community neuro speech and language team yourself.
Occupational therapy (OT)
As you get older, you may start to do more things for yourself—like getting out of bed, going to the toilet, getting washed and dressed, making your own food, and doing fun things you like. If you had help at school to be more independent, you learned some strategies. Keep using these to help with everyday tasks.
Help at home
If you need help with things like:
- getting in and out of bed
- going up stairs
- using the bathroom
- special chairs or equipment at home
talk to the occupational therapy team.
Hand therapy
If you need support for a hand condition, the hand therapy team can support you.
- If you’ve seen the children’s team recently, they will help with your move to adult services. You can also email them yourself on Gst-tr.handtherapy@nhs.net
- If you haven’t seen them in over a year, your GP will need to refer you.
Food and nutrition (Dietetics)
When you grow up, your dietitian care will move from the children’s team to the adult team.
The nutrition and dietetics service supports people to follow a healthy diet and treat health problems related to nutrition.
What will happen?
- The children’s dietitian will start talking to you about this after you turn 16.
- They will try to set up a meeting with both the children’s and adult dietitian team so you can meet your new team.
- Until the move is finished, the children’s dietitian will still help you.
If you have a feeding tube
If you are tube-fed, you will stay with the home enteral nutrition team, even after you become an adult.
Your review appointment
The adult dietitian will talk with you to decide the best way to meet, like:
- at a clinic
- on the phone
- in a video call
Remember, you are not alone. There are teams ready to help you as you grow up. Just ask your GP or contact the right service when you need support.