does my 18 year old ave to attend college

blitzy123

hi good evening
 can anyone help give advice my 18 yer old as attended a  collage for 2 years its a college for children/adults with special needs lasy year his attendance was very bad as he really didnt want to go in his annual review they said was very withdrawn  and rarely happy  i know it cause he didnt want to be there  he  would cry  lockhimself in his room get angry get soo aggravated  he does like leaving his bedroom or house and with covid  made so much worse he will tell  others ok il go college but he gets upset n doesnt want to go  anyway the enrolled him in for his 3rd year  this september hes not been back  he had to ave foot surgery so had online task to do he was mean to go bk yyesterday he will not go he been awake for 48 hours nearly pacing house saying dont want to go i hate seeing him this upset but alo getting very agressive about it ( he has austuim behavoiur issues mental health issues  n still doesnt have all independant skills cant go out on own )  were do i stand as a parent i cant force him to go or can college force him .
i know i will ave to take him off my   universal credit  but will he still rec is high rate pip care and mobilty  to live on ??
 and will college force him to go bk ?? 

poppy123456

HI,

I'm sorry to hear this. As he's 18 he doesn't have to go if he doesn't want to, that's entirely his decision. You will of course need to report the changes on your journal and your child element for him will them stop. You also need to speak to child benefit to report the changes and then this will also stop.

Also if no other adults living in your house, other then the 2 of you, you need to report the changes to your local council and your 25% single person discount will also end because your son is an adult and will no longer be a student if he decides to leave college.

If he does leave college he will be able to claim Universal Credit for himself, in his own right but he will need a sick note from his GP to start the work capability assessment off. As he's under 25 then he will be entitled to £342.72 per month. Once the work capability assessment has be completed, if he's found to have limited capability for work and work related activity then he'll receive an extra £342 per month from the 4th month of his claim.

I would also advise you to speak to his GP regarding his mental health and they way Covid has made him so much worse. There could be some help out there for him and your GP will be able to advise you/him regarding this.

Hope this helps.