my son wants to leave home yet he has learning difficulties.

[lettysmith21]

Its me again. My 17 yr old son is hellbent on getting his own place. The problem is he has learning difficulties and cant look after himself. Do I seek outside intervention? Or allow him, when he 18 leave home and see how it goes?

Have you tried posting in the Special Needs section - I bet some of the mums there have dealt with similar.

Do you think he would accept an assisted living type set up, or does he want full independence?

Speak to social worker about supported living places. No reason why he can't live away from you with the right support in place.

The house next door to us has been divided up into two bedsits per floor with shared bathroom and shared kitchen on each floor. It is for adults with learning difficulties. There is a caretaker who lives in, an office in the basement for staff. They have many different therapists visiting every day.

The people who live are pretty autonomous, and live basically like eveybody else, meeting in coffee shops, doing shopping, cooking, and so on. They just have people to call on if they need them. They get together and have barbecues in the garden, and so on. They all seem to get on with their lives pretty well.

It is not the only place like this on the UK. See if you can find a place like that.