Research


Our book research into the experiences and needs of families of disabled children suggests they are struggling with huge and often relentless challenges. Here’s a summary of what we have found:

(i) 55% of families with a disabled child live in or on the margins of poverty (Source: Contact a Family)

(ii) 3% of mothers with disabled children work full time compared with 22% of mothers with non-disabled children (Source: General Household Survey, 2002)

(iii) In a Contact a Family survey of 2,000 parents of disabled children 76% of respondents said they suffered from stress or depression (Source: Contact a Family)

(iv) Disabled children make up 10% of all children in care but only 5% of the overall population (Source: UK Government, Aiming Higher for Disabled Children)

(v) 40% of households with disabled children are living in unsuitable accommodation (Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation)

(vi) As many as 45% of children at special schools can wake up regularly at night compared to 13% of children in mainstream schools (Source: Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit)

(vii) In a survey conducted by Mencap 82% of children with learning difficulties had been bullied at school and 58% had been physically hurt by bullies (Source: Mencap)

(viii) In a national survey 37% of mothers of disabled children said caring for their child had adversely affected their health (Source: Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit)

(ix) In a survey of 3,000 families with a severely disabled child 77% reported unmet needs for community equipment (Source: Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit)

(x) It costs on average 3 times as much to raise a disabled child than it does a non-disabled child (Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation)

Our Survey


In early 2008 we undertook a paper based survey of parents of disabled children attending two facilities in Worthing, West Sussex – the Camelia Botnar Children’s Centre (0-5 year olds) and the Palatine Road Special Needs School (5-11 year olds). Here’s a summary of the results: -

(i) 48.5% of parents described their child’s condition as severe

(ii) 23% of children had been diagnosed with more than one disability

(iii) 60% of parents said they struggled to come to terms with their child’s condition

(iv)  8% of parents had been offered counselling when their child was first diagnosed

(v) Parent Counselling and Speech Therapy were identified as the most difficult services to access

(vi) 52% of parents said they were either sometimes or not at all confident when dealing with professionals

(vii) 90% of parents said they would be interested in services that supported families of children with disabilities