Ms Julie Tonge:

Ideally, there would be a transition service at the point of need. A school leaver, an adult who has applied to college as a mature student or somebody who is engaging in further education should be able to link in with the transition service. This would be a little bit like career guidance in that people would understand what these different opportunities look like. An autistic person could be coached so that he or she is as prepared as possible for independent study. School leavers quite often have had a good deal of intervention. There may have been a great deal of support from their teachers and parents. They may have had a special needs assistant. When they come into college, we tell them that they have to be independent. That is not a very reasonable ask.