Growing Up: Navigating the Transition from Childhood to Adulthood After a Burn Injury
For many children who experience a burn or scald injury, the journey does not end when they leave hospital. A burn injury is for life, recovery is a journey, and as young people grow up, they face a significant and sometimes daunting transition: moving from the specialist paediatric burn care they have known since childhood, into adult services and a world that can feel very different.
At Children’s Burns Trust, we know that this transition is one of the most important and least talked-about challenges in burn care. That is why we are shining a light on it in this newsletter, and pointing our community towards the wonderful organisations and people who are helping young burn survivors navigate this challenging stage of their lives.
You are not alone in this
The move from children’s to adult services can feel overwhelming. Relationships with familiar healthcare teams change, the way appointments and treatment are managed shifts, and young people are expected to take on much greater responsibility for their own care at the very moment life is already changing fast.
Ambassador Sidrah, a burn survivor herself, offers this advice to young people making that transition:
Sidrah, Children’s Burns Trust Ambassador “Ask questions as this is your care now as an adult. You are in control of your appointments and treatment, and remember ‘your body, your choice’. Be kind to yourself, it’s okay to find the change overwhelming. Building confidence can take time so be patient and give yourself grace. Stay connected with your burns team and support networks, see what other support they provide. Talk to other burn survivors. Most importantly, remember you are so much more than your scars.”
Fellow Ambassador Kiki, also a burn survivor, adds:
Kiki, Children’s Burns Trust Ambassador “Something that really helped me during recovery was seeing recovery as a journey, not a destination. You’ll never completely move past what happened, but you can learn to live alongside it. So take away the pressure to achieve perfection and follow your feelings to understand them better and manage them.”
Support for young adults
We are proud to work alongside two charities who provide specialist support for burn survivors as they move into adulthood.
Dan’s Fund for Burns provides vital ongoing support for young people aged 18 and upwards when transitioning from children’s burn services into adult care, ensuring they continue to receive the help they need as they move into adulthood. The charity offers emotional support online through the Adult Burn Support UK website, peer-to-peer befriending, financial assistance from aged 16 upwards and access to online support communities. They also fund the Young Adults Burns Camp each year, run by The Children’s Burns Club, and actively organise the Adult Burn Survivor Wellbeing Weekend every other year. By bridging the gap between paediatric and adult services, Dan’s Fund for Burns helps ensure that no burn survivor faces their journey alone. Find out more at dansfundforburns.org.
The Katie Piper Foundation, established in 2009 by burns survivor Katie Piper OBE, is a UK charity supporting adults who have experienced life-altering burns and scarring. They support survivors physically, mentally and emotionally through a personalised, clinically led rehabilitation programme informed by lived experience. Their specialist team works with survivors, their families and loved ones, and will support a survivor however long ago their injury was and for as long as they need. You can find more information and referral details at katiepiperfoundation.org.uk.
Watch: Young Burn Survivors on Transition
We also want to share this powerful video from the Burn Service at Chelmsford, which is an example of the sort of information that’s available in your burn service. We hope it resonates, whether you are a young person navigating this yourself, a parent walking alongside someone who is, or a professional supporting them.
If you are supporting a young person through this transition, please do share this page with them, and encourage them to reach out to the organisations listed above. And if you have your own experience to share, we would love to hear from you.
Related content
Donate to us
Campaigns
