Across the United Kingdom and its territories, families of children and young adults with special needs are sounding the alarm: the support systems meant to help them are falling short, leaving many desperate, exhausted, and, in some cases, contemplating difficult moves abroad just to access basic care. Their stories, told in recent days from the Virgin Islands, Somerset, and Londonderry, reveal a pattern of underfunded services, bureaucratic obstacles, and a system that, as one lawmaker put it, is simply "broken."
In the British Virgin Islands, the crisis has reached a point where families feel compelled to uproot their lives entirely. According to BVI News, Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn addressed the House of Assembly on September 23, 2025, highlighting the plight of parents who are forced to move to the United Kingdom to secure proper care for their children with special needs. "It is not easy for parents with children with special needs. You have people who have to leave their homeland," Walwyn stated. He recounted stories of families who, when asked about missing relatives, replied, "Oh, Mary had a special needs child, she had to go to England because of her to get the support. What nonsense is that?"
Walwyn's impassioned plea called for direct government support, including financial assistance and specialized programs. He urged reforms in the education system, particularly at the Eslyn Henley Richiez Learning Centre, suggesting the curriculum focus on practical life skills. "Change the curriculum done at Eslyn Henley and let part of it be to teach those children how to take care of themselves. Make it very practical. Learn how to cook. Learn how to go to the bank. Learn how to make up your bed. Those things got to be there because some of the children will never come to the point where they’ll come to top executive jobs but they must know how to live," he insisted.
But it’s not just about education. Walwyn highlighted the deep-seated anxieties parents face, particularly the fear of what will happen to their children if they die first. "The greatest fear of a parent with a child with special needs is them dying before the child dies. That is the greatest fear. Because if the parent dies, that child will get knocked about. We have to take these things seriously," he warned. Parents and advocates have echoed these concerns, repeatedly calling for more investment in education, therapy, and employment opportunities to prevent forced migration and ensure that all residents, regardless of ability, are included in the territory’s vision of self-determination.
Thousands of miles away in Somerset, England, a similar struggle is playing out. The BBC reported on Tatjana, a mother fighting to keep her autistic son Luke in school after the local council stopped paying for his specialized transport and in-car support once he turned 16. From May to July this year, Luke had traveled safely to school in a specialist taxi with a trained driver—an arrangement that ended abruptly with his birthday. Now, the council offers only a Personal Travel Payment of 50p per mile, far short of the £97 per journey needed for Luke's three-mile trip.
"Luke has no road safety, no danger safety," Tatjana told the BBC. "He's not going to be safe. For him to go to school he does need one-to-one support." The family, already struggling with their own health challenges—Tatjana’s partner is awaiting spinal surgery, and her former husband is a leg amputee—are "on their knees" trying to ferry Luke to school themselves. The council, for its part, says it is "under pressure to consider anything that's not a statutory obligation," according to Heather Shearer, the lead member for Children, Families and Education. Shearer emphasized that the authority encourages independent travel post-16 and that "care and consideration" are given to each case, but acknowledged that families can appeal to the local government ombudsman if dissatisfied.
The issue, however, is not isolated to one family. MP Gideon Amos, representing Taunton and Wellington, described the situation as emblematic of a much wider crisis. "He's not getting the support he needs and it's a huge challenge and burden for the parents to try and hold down full-time jobs at the same time as having to provide two-to-one to get Luke to school," Amos said. "The whole system is broken." The UK Labour government has recognized the scale of the problem and promised to publish its plans for reforming SEND (special educational needs and disability) provision in England later this autumn, stating it is "listening to families" in hopes of "transforming outcomes for every child with special educational needs."
Meanwhile, in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, the BBC also reported on Suzy Ward and her 19-year-old son Eoin, who has Down's syndrome, autism, and ADHD. Since finishing school at Knockavoe in June, Eoin’s support has all but vanished. He now requires 24-hour care, sleeps only two hours a night, and his mother is left "exhausted" and unable to take even a brief respite. "It's very tough, it's definitely tough. I feel exhausted. It's really difficult," Suzy explained. She recounted how, when Eoin was in school, he benefited from one-to-one or even two-to-one support due to his complex needs. That support disappeared after graduation.
The Western Health and Social Care Trust offered Eoin a day placement, but Suzy deemed it unsuitable and unsafe, as it was primarily designed for elderly people and posed risks of choking and inappropriate peer interactions. "I am doing everything I can as his parent to protect his wellbeing, and I cannot agree to a placement that I believe would put him or others at risk, or where he would regress," she said. Suzy has joined the call for legislative change, arguing that Northern Ireland needs a post-19 system in law to meet the needs of young adults with complex needs, similar to the legal guarantees in other parts of the UK. The Trust, for its part, said it recognized the "significant challenges" faced by families and that individual care plans are provided within current funding constraints.
What emerges from these stories is a troubling consistency: across regions and political boundaries, families caring for children and young adults with special needs are facing daunting obstacles. Whether it’s the threat of forced migration in the Virgin Islands, the sudden withdrawal of support after a child’s 16th birthday in Somerset, or the lack of age-appropriate placements post-school in Londonderry, the systems in place are not keeping pace with the realities faced by these families.
With governments promising reform and advocates demanding urgent action, the coming months will reveal whether these voices—parents, politicians, and those with lived experience—will finally be heard. For now, families continue to fight, not just for services, but for the right to a safe, dignified, and fulfilling life for their children.
