Convert garage to living space for daughter with AS?

equalsql

My youngest daughter who is 19 has asperger syndrome and eating problems and is starting to take over the family house in a manner which is making it almost impossible for us all to get along.
She has no further education and the likelyhood of here ever getting a job is unlikely as she has zero social skills. It is likely that she will never leave home and I need to find a solution to give her some indepedence but with her mother and I close by. 

Behind the back of the house I have a large stand-alone concrete-block built garage with a proper tiled roof which has water, electric and sewerage all installed, so I have been thinking that converting this into a fully contained living unit would be the answer to all our problems. People build granny anexes ino garages so they can look after elderly parents, so is it possible to do this for a child with mental health issues?

Have any of you guys ever had to do something like this?

Jalapeno

Go and have a chat with the planning officer from your council on the likelihood of getting planning permission.

Axe_meister

I feel for you having a son with diagnosed ASD (12) and a daughter with all sorts of physical and mental health conditions (18).
Is your local CAHMs unit involved? Have you applied for a statement of special needs so she can be sent to a school to help her social skills?

equalsql

Axe_meister said:

I feel for you having a son with diagnosed ASD (12) and a daughter with all sorts of physical and mental health conditions (18).
Is your local CAHMs unit involved? Have you applied for a statement of special needs so she can be sent to a school to help her social skills?

We've had all the support we can get from CAHMs and she attends a support group once a week  but it is really hard to get her to engage with anyone. She certainly wouldn't attend a school to help her social skills and she is very, very antagonistic as she has no empathy for family members.  

We did get a formal diagnosis of her condition when she was young, which helped alot with getting support but now she is over 18, that has pretty much evaporated plus she has has bad experiences with adult mental health support...who don't consider anyone in danger with eating disorders until they quite literally look like a walking skeleton..by which time it is almost too late.

Danny1969

My son has AS, I feel for you as I know it's not easy to bring up a child with AS and the teenage years are probably the worse with peer pressure and social interaction. It gets better though, my son is now 27, working in a shop and living in a flat with his girlfriend and his baby daughter, it takes time but it does get easier 

The garage sounds ideal, all the hard work is done already but you need to comply with building regs when doing the work and tell the council it's now living quarters etc

Myranda

Can you not send her off to college or university to at least keep her occupied for 5 years

jamiexsilver

I'm pretty sure you'll need planning permission if she's going to live in it, I had a summerhouse built at the bottom of my garden it all complied with permitted development, under a certain height and mtr squared etc but our builder mentioned I'd have to have planning if it was going to be lived in.

That's what we had done 

ennspek

I have done something similar in the past. It was supposed to be a temporary solution but lasted for years.
I sympathise with your situation.

ennspek

jamiexsilver said:

I'm pretty sure you'll need planning permission if she's going to live in it, I had a summerhouse built at the bottom of my garden it all complied with permitted development, under a certain height and mtr squared etc but our builder mentioned I'd have to have planning if it was going to be lived in.

That's what we had done 

I like that a lot. I'd probably only fill it with bloody guitars though.

TheBlueWolf

My ex step daughter has Aspergers so I can relate a lot

I agree you'll need to see what, if any, planning permission you need. If you cra

BigBearKris

Are there any residential settings in your local area? Sometimes that kind of houses work much better for people with AS. Is there any social worker willing to work with you guys and offer some help?
If you (and her) prefer to stay together as family, separate place in the garden seems like a great idea as it'll provide some privacy for you and your wife as well as promote her independce a bit.

equalsql

I had a chat with the local planning support desk and they said that quite a few people were doing this for relatives needing support. She said that I would need to state that I wanted planning for an 'ancillory annex' which has restrictions such as running off the services supplied to my house and not having its own curtilage.

In principle she said it shouls be OK but they are offering a free pre-planning service that checks on local restriction etc just to make sure it doesn't fall at the first hurdle.. so that's my first port of call.