Families with disabled children must be made aware of support available

Steve Miller, Centre Manager at Huntercombe House in Stockton is using Autism Awareness Week (October 1 - 7 2007) to urge local families with disabled children to make sure they understand the support they are entitled to receive under new government guidelines.

It is estimated that there are 770,000 disabled children under the age of 16 in the UK. The vast majority are cared for at home by family with little or no outside support. A survey by Mencap found that 8 out of 10 families with a disabled child were at breaking point due to a lack of caring support.

A separate study suggested that 2.2 million people in the UK have given up full-time work to care for children or other dependants during the past three years. The survey, by Lincoln Financial found that 15% of adults said they had changed jobs or ceased working since 2004 to allow them to become carers, with approximately a third of them having given up a full-time post.

Thanks to concerted lobbying by the Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign, Cabinet Minister Ed Balls MP recently announced the most substantial funding package ever for families with disabled children living in England.

From 2008 to 2011, 340m will be invested in services for disabled children, with the lion's share, 280m, being spent on short breaks for families who have children with severe disabilities.

Steve Miller said: "The Government has made a start with the recently announced funding but this is something that parents, pressure groups and care providers need to keep at the top of the agenda. The 'Aiming Higher for Disabled Children' government report requires local authorities to publish eligibility criteria for access to services. This has the potential to transform services, as families should now have the information required to push for change in their local area.

"Carers should also ensure that they are claiming the benefits they are entitled to. Almost all families with disabled children are suffering from financial difficulties as the cost of raising a disabled child is three times higher than other children. Only about half of families** claim disability living allowance and this is an unacceptable situation. More needs to be done to highlight the help available."

Date Posted: 03 Oct 2007 09:18

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