1. Get ready for a definition. The Disability Discrimination Act covers children who have an impairment that has "a substantial and long-term adverse affect" on their ability to perform some normal day-to-day tasks. This includes mobility problems, seeing or hearing impairments, learning disabilities or mental health problems. It encompasses specific conditions such as epilepsy, Aids, asthma, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
In the past, disabled children have been left out because mainstream providers thought they couldn't cope. This is illegal. The Act says it is unlawful for service providers to discriminate unfairly against disabled children.
2. There is no need to panic. The law is not asking anyone to do anything unreasonable. A service won't be closed down, made to compromise health and safety or have to change its core purpose. But providers do have to think ahead and do what is reasonable to make sure they don't offer an inferior service to disabled children.
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