Who do we support

The Learning Disability and Autism Hospital at Home team works alongside children and young people up to 18 years old with a moderate to severe learning disability and/or a severe degree of functional impairment associated with autism.

When a young person is diagnosed, learning disabilities are typically categorised by professionals as mild, moderate, or severe.

Moderate to severe learning disability

The main indicators we expect to see in a young person with a moderate to severe learning disability are that:

  • They will have most likely attended a SEND ‘Special Educational Needs’ school
  • They are likely to have a diagnosis of global developmental delay, learning disability or intellectual impairment. This means their needs impact all areas including at school, how they communicate and socialise, and in everyday living. This is different to a learning difficulty such as dyslexia.
  • They are likely to have an EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan).
  • They may need help with every-day living skills. Additional support with understanding others or communicating their needs may also be required.
  • For those experiencing mental health difficulties or emotional distress, this may be shown through changes in their behaviour.
Severe degree of functional impairment

It can be hard to agree whether an autistic young person has a severe degree of functional impairment.

This may be the case when a young person requires lots of individualised support even after all reasonable adjustments have been made. This support relates to their needs as an autistic young person. For example:

  • The young person is highly likely to be experiencing extreme difficulty coping with change or transition. This may cause them high distress.
  • Interests or repetitive behaviours, which may usually offer calm, meaning or purpose, are impacting negatively on their functioning in multiple areas of daily life.
  • There is an avoidance or extreme difficulty with social interaction. Any communication may seem exceptionally challenging. They may be very isolated with few connections or seem extremely vulnerable in the connections they do have.
  • The processing of sensory information may be making it harder to engage with others or activities.
  • They will likely be finding their capacity to cope or their strategies for coping are no longer sufficient.

Difficulties in the areas above will be having a significant impact on the young person’s quality of life. They may be impacting the physical safety of themselves or others. There may be concern that the responses to these difficulties are increasingly restrictive, negative, or highly likely to lead to exclusion from services or breakdown in home living.

When we support

The young people we work alongside are also at a crisis point with their mental health and/or behaviours that challenge. Their needs are greater than what can currently be supported by wider community services, putting them at risk of an inpatient admission.

To prevent this deteriorating, our team start to work with young people, their family, and their wider network.

Where admission cannot be prevented, building relationships with a young person as an inpatient allows our team to facilitate the earliest possible transition back home, supported by a community delivered, individualised package of care.

Page last reviewed: 2 July, 2025