All this has taken place in the context of a Treasury/Department forEducation and Skills review of children's services that has madeservices for disabled children one of its three priority themes. Thereview will feed directly into the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review,and holds out the promise of additional funding both for specialistservices for disabled children and to increase the accessibility ofuniversal services.
This new interest perhaps reflects the chasm between the Government'saspirations for all children and the realities of life for disabledchildren.
From diagnosis, too many families are forced to fight for access to theservices they need. More than half of all families with disabledchildren live in poverty or on the margins of it. While eligibilitycriteria for services tighten, more children are being diagnosed withautistic spectrum disorders and larger numbers of children with complexhealth needs are surviving until adulthood. Despite excellent examplesof services in some areas the impression overall is of a system incrisis.
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