Type of service: Day services, Domiciliary services, Family support and information services, Respite and short breaks

Website: http://www.somerset.gov.uk/organisation/departments/the-learning-disabilities-service/

Learning Disability Services arrange social care and support for adults with learning disabilities and their carers, who are Somerset residents. Eligibility for services is determined though a community care assessment. People are eligible for support if they are assessed as having critical or substantial needs. Complex services are arranged by a social worker. People who use a personal budget or Direct Payment may arrange some services themselves. Services include residential care, supported living, adult placement scheme, short residential breaks, domiciliary care, day services and work preparation services. Services may be provided either by the County Council or independent providers. Access to services is coordinated through four community teams based in Bridgwater, Taunton, Yeovil and Frome. These teams contain social workers, adult social care workers, transitions advisors (who co-ordinate the move from children's to adult services), and specialist health professionals. Services are for adults with learning disabilities and their carers who are Somerset residents. Our definition of a learning disability is "a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), with a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning), which started at or around the time of birth, with a lasting effect on development". This definition includes people with autistic spectrum disorder who have impaired intelligence. People with Asperger syndrome are supported by Somerset Partnership Foundation Trust.

Aimed at: Adult

Gender: All genders

Specialisms: Has autism-specific elements

Other specialisms: Learning disability