A blinkered view of disability still prevails
Anne Longfield
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
About seven per cent of children under the age of 16 in the UK are disabled.
These 770,000 children and young people must face a number of barriers to achieve their potential, enjoy childhood and feel included in mainstream society. Families with disabled children also report a failure to meet their needs, leading to isolation and stress.
Two studies undertaken by the Thomas Coram Research Unit have found that disabled children experience social exclusion out of school and during holidays. In addition, families of children with disabilities continue to experience negative attitudes towards them when using leisure and play facilities and a shortage of accessible services.
But there are some innovative schemes out there promoting precisely this sort of inclusion. One such national scheme, which focuses on play, is run by the charity AbilityNet. Its Play AT IT project, funded over two years by the Big Lottery Fund, aims to widen play options for nursery-age disabled children through technology. AbilityNet discovered an acute shortage of accessible computing equipment, training and expertise for disabled children within early years settings. Its project aims to address this imbalance and provide disabled children across the UK with play opportunities in IT, which will provide the building blocks for future learning and the skills to progress.
At a more local level, a partnership between national charity for disabled children Whizz-Kidz and Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust in London aims to give young people independent mobility. The pilot project provides young disabled people - many of whom are unable to get a wheelchair that meets their needs in school, at home and at play - with better access to mobility equipment that is not readily available on the NHS. Having the right equipment early in life is crucial to ensure disabled children have a full and active childhood and are able to develop the confidence and skills to live independently in the future. More than 35 children have already benefited from the project.
The government's Aiming High for Disabled Children strategy sets out a new agenda for disabled children, promising £340m and a package of reforming measures, including a core offer for families with disabled children. Additional investment is promised in the recent Children's Plan. The Every Disabled Child Matters campaign has highlighted the significance of this plan, which recognises disabled children as a key group throughout. The challenge now is to ensure this filters through to local authorities, schools and individual services and settings.
- Anne Longfield is chief executive of 4Children.Email anne.longfield@haymarket.com.