"More than 55 per cent of families with a disabled child live in poverty at some time or another," said a Barnardo's spokeswoman. "You only have to be a few pounds over the threshold to miss out on a disabled facilities grant and families can really struggle."
Barnardo's said it cost families three times more to raise a disabled child.
"For example, you can buy a child car seat for about 45, but it costs over 200 for a disabled child. Benefits for disabled people are always set a bit higher, but never three times as high."
A spokesman for the Disability Alliance said: "Means testing of disabled facilities grants has been abolished in Northern Ireland and we certainly think it would be worth looking at this in England and Wales.
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