I am thinking of setting up a trust with Mencap for my 38-year old son who has Asperger syndrome. He is highly intelligent, and functions well in some ways, but cannot live completely independently, nor organise the practicalities of life. It would be a discretionary trust set up to be used both in my lifetime and afterwards - other family members will be able to make payments into the trust or leave legacies to it, for example. I understand that Mencap has to be one of the beneficiaries, but I don't yet know to what extent.
Mencap has confirmed that they include people with Asperger syndrome -whether high-functioning or not - in the scheme, and are sending me an information pack. My question is - are there any of you out there who have done this with an adult child with Asperger syndrome, and what is your experience of it - the benefits and drawbacks? I can think of several of each - for instance, the difficulty of selling the idea to my son in the first place! It's a pity that the NAS do not do something similar.
Best wishes
Liz