‘Once my autistic son turns 18, his support ends’

"He would spell from having 5 days a week successful schoolhouse successful a supported situation with his peers to fundamentally having thing and being astatine location with me."

Caroline Campbell's autistic 17-year-old lad Oscar is owed to permission his peculiar schoolhouse successful 2 years.

She travelled from Londonderry to Stormont connected Monday to archer assembly members (MLAs) and others astir the "cliff-edge" helium faces.

That is due to the fact that Oscar volition not person automatic enactment to proceed successful acquisition oregon grooming erstwhile helium leaves school.

"Because there's nary legislation, which is what we're each present warring for, he's not protected erstwhile he's 19," Ms Campbell told BBC News NI.

"Once that connection of peculiar acquisition needs runs retired astatine 19, that's it, helium has nary extortion legally."

Economy Minister Conor Murphy acknowledged that young radical similar Oscar with peculiar acquisition needs (SEN) look "injustice" erstwhile they permission school.

Murphy was speaking astatine an lawsuit astatine Stormont organised by parents of children with SEN.

"We person a work not conscionable successful my department, but crossed departments, to code that."

The curate said determination needed to beryllium continued proviso for young people.

"We can't conscionable say, 'we're done with you, the acquisition and grooming strategy is done with you astatine 19 due to the fact that you person learning oregon different disabilities.'"

First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, Education Minister Paul Givan and a scope of assembly members besides attended the lawsuit astatine Stormont to conscionable parents.

In England, an Education, Health and Care program (EHCP) outlines a young person's peculiar acquisition needs up to the property of 25.

It is simply a ineligible document, which besides describes the further enactment they request successful acquisition oregon training, and the outcomes they would similar to achieve.

But an EHCP is lone successful spot for young radical successful England, though determination has been disapproval that immoderate councils neglect to conscionable deadlines acceptable retired successful the plan.

In Wales and Scotland, though, determination person been caller reforms to assistance young radical with SEN modulation from school.

Parents came to Stormont to telephone for a alteration successful the instrumentality to guarantee enactment for further education, grooming and employment is successful spot for each young radical with SEN erstwhile they permission school.

Jaclyn Harron's girl Aoife is 9 and attends Knockavoe Special School successful Strabane, County Tyrone - she is autistic and besides has terrible intelligence improvement disorder.

"Aoife has a dual diagnosis, which means she's ne'er truly going to beryllium independent," she told BBC News NI.

"Aoife conscionable thrives connected her routine, she loves her school.

"My biggest fearfulness is that erstwhile that comes to an extremity astatine 19 determination is going to beryllium obscurity for Aoife to go."

She said not knowing what would hap to Aoife erstwhile she reaches 19 was a "really scary thought".

Ms Harron said she had friends whose children were astir to permission schoolhouse with peculiar acquisition needs "and determination isn't thing successful place".

Alma White is 1 of the parents who person been highlighting the request for a alteration successful the law.

She has called the run Caleb's Cause, aft her lad Caleb who has analyzable peculiar needs, including autism, ADHD and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Ms White said a task unit had been acceptable up successful the Department for the Economy (DfE) to look astatine options for change.

"So we're conscionable benignant of waiting to see, but evidently I'm pushing for it successful this mandate," she said.

"Actions are going to talk louder than words.

"What I would similar to spot is simply a nationalist declaration of enactment and I would similar to spot it determination forward."

It is not a occupation that MLAs oregon enforcement departments person been unaware of.

Stormont's ain probe section has identified "multiple reviews" carried retired implicit the past 20 years into the modulation of young radical with SEN from school.

"Transition readying has been taxable to sizeable reappraisal and proposal implicit the past 2 decades," its astir caller survey said.

But contempt this "issues persist", it continued.

The probe said that transitions from schoolhouse were "a long-standing argumentation challenge, compounded by maturation successful the colonisation and complexity of request of children with disabilities".

A recent reappraisal into Northern Ireland's full acquisition strategy noted that "many learners with peculiar needs look peculiar difficulties astatine the constituent of leaving schoolhouse and embarking upon big life".