Preparing for Adulthood requires structural coherence across development, practice, and systems.
Café Brainwaves explores how young people with SEND move from education into adult life, and why these transitions sometimes succeed and sometimes falter.
Transitions are rarely determined by a single factor. They are shaped by the interaction between developmental processes, professional practice, and the systems that organise education and support. When these elements align, young people are better able to sustain independence, wellbeing, and participation in adult life.
Café Brainwaves examines this interaction and the conditions that allow transitions to remain stable as expectations increase.
Preparing for Adulthood can be understood through three interacting domains.
Development
Neurodiversity, cognitive development, executive functioning, emotional regulation, and identity formation
Practice
Curriculum design, scaffolding, skill acquisition and generalisation, prompt fading, and supported transition planning
Systems
Inspection frameworks, organisational policy, transition pathways, funding structures, support withdrawal frameworks, and statutory thresholds
Café Brainwaves 