Rights Of Disabled Children

Doreen Jarrett

Description

The rights of disabled people have been affected considerably in recent times, particularly in the light of COVID 19 and also the area of welfare benefits. This has a direct impact on the rights of disabled children. A Straightforward Guide to the Rights of Disabled Children, Revised Edition is a comprehensive overview of the law and practice as it affects disabled children. The book also deals with early reactions and emotions and ongoing support. The following areas are covered: The law generally - The early days - reactions and emotions - Help and assistance-who does what? - COVID 19 and it's impact on Disabled people - Finances- the benefits system - other help - Education - NHS role - Breaks and holidays - Transport - Practical advice-different agencies

Informations

• Publié par: Straightforward Publishing
• Date de parution: 28 septembre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781802360745
• Langue: English

Extrait

A STRAIGHTFORWARD GUIDE TO
THE RIGHTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN
Doreen Jarrett
Editor: Roger Sproston
Straightforward Publishing www.straightforwardco.co.uk
Straightforward Guides
Straightforward Company Limited 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holders.
ISBN
978-1-913 776-75-6 Epub ISBN 978-1-80236-074-5 Kindle ISBN 978-1-80236-085-1
Printed by 4edge www.4edge.co.uk
Cover design by BW Studio Derby
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained within this book is correct at the time of going to press, the author and publisher can take no responsibility for the errors or omissions contained within.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Ch.1 The Early Days
Negative feelings towards the child
Coping with emotions
Reactions of others in your life
Reactions of siblings
Useful contacts
Ch.2 The Law and Disability
The law and disability
The Equality Act 2010
Definition of impairment
Persons with HIV infection, cancer and multiple sclerosis
Definition of long-term effects
Normal day-to-day activities
Specialised activities
Disabled children
Useful contacts
Ch.3 Professionals and Organisations That You and Your Child Might be Involved With
Clinical psychologist
Communication support worker
Dietician
Educational psychologist
General practitioner (GP)
Health visitor (Health Service)
Key worker
Learning disability nurses
Learning support assistant / teaching assistant
Named officer
Paediatric occupational therapist
Paediatrician (Health Service)
Paediatric neurologist
Physiotherapist
Portage home visitor
School nurse
Social worker (Childrens)
Special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO)
Useful contacts
Ch.4 Finances-The Benefits System
Right to maternity leave
Statutory Maternity Leave
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Early births or you lose your baby
If you re not eligible for SMP
How to claim
Proof you re pregnant
Maternity benefits
Extra leave
Parental leave
Your parenting leave entitlement
Special arrangements
Dealing with emergencies
Paternity leave and pay
What is paternity leave?
Taking paternity leave
Births
Adoptions and Surrogacy Arrangements
Receiving paternity pay
Statutory Paternity Pay
Contractual Paternity Pay
Other leave options
Annual leave
Unpaid time off
Attending Antenatal or Adoption Appointments
Still births and sick babies
Agency Workers and paternity rights
Employment rights during paternity leave
Entitlement to Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay
Who is entitled?
How can the leave and pay be taken?
Other benefits available if your child is disabled
Disability Living Allowance/Personal Independence Payment
Child Benefit
Carer s Allowance
Universal credit
Child tax credit
Disabled Facilities Grant
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
Family Fund
Help with health costs
Useful Contacts
Ch.5 Education
Education and the law
Reasonable adjustments
Portage
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
Higher education
Children with special educational needs (SEN)
Support a child can receive
Extra help
Requesting an EHC assessment
Personal budgets
Independent support for children of all ages
Disabled people and financing studies
Students and means tested benefits
Useful contacts
Ch.6 Help With Transport and Equipment for You and Your Disabled Child
Welfare benefits
The Blue Badge Scheme
The Motability Scheme
Use of Public Transport
Travel permits for buses and trains
Help with taxi fares
Community transport schemes
Equipment available for disabled children-Equipment - provision through local authorities direct payments
Direct payments
Arranging an assessment
Wheelchairs
Other needs such as nappies and incontinence pads
Useful contacts
Ch.7 Holidays and Breaks for Disabled Children and Their Families
Respite breaks or short term breaks
Family Based Respite Care
Residential Respite Care
Play schemes and After School Clubs
Respite Care or Short-term Breaks in Your Home
Holidays
Useful contacts
Ch. 8 Disability and Employment
Entering employment
Jobcentre plus and Disability Employment Advisors
Work programmes
Community Work Placement Programme
Access to Work
Training
Benefits while training
When a person is in work
Disability and employers responsibilities
Reasonable adjustments in the workplace
Recruitment
Redundancy and retirement
Useful contacts

Index
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Introduction
Many parents of disabled children find the experience of looking after that child all the more difficult and traumatic because of the lack of information from the professionals who work in the field of disability. In addition to the initial trauma of finding that their child has been diagnosed as disabled, if a diagnosis has been made at all, parents can be rendered powerless by a lack of information about their child s condition and the ongoing support that they need, plus knowledge of the services, support and benefits to which their child is entitled.
COVID 19 and disabled children
As we all know, the pandemic virtually shut the country, and all of its services, down, from March 2020 onwards. This created problems across the board in all sectors, not least those areas dealing with the provision of services to disabled children. Also, importantly, the mental and physical health of children, and particularly disabled children has suffered. At the time of writing, the country is pulling out of the pandemic and slowly returning to normal. However, it is necessary to take stock and to see what problems the last 16 months have created.
To this end the NSPCC have produced a report entitled The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on child welfare: d/Deaf and disabled children- Publication date 2021. The NSPCC used insight from Childline counselling sessions and contacts to the NSPCC helpline to highlight the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children and young people.
The report focuses on what d/Deaf and disabled children are telling Childline, and what adults are telling the NSPCC helpline about d/Deaf and disabled children. This includes children who:
are d/Deaf
are on the autistic spectrum (in just over half of the Childline counselling sessions with disabled children between 1 April and 31 October 2020, children told us they are on the autism spectrum)
have a condition such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
have a learning disability
have a physical disability such as cerebral palsy
have visual impairment.
Key themes of the report include:
worries about the pandemic
coping with coronavirus restrictions
learning during lockdown
returning to school after lockdown
family pressures
children experiencing abuse
getting support during the pandemic.
A Summary of Key findings of the report
Coronavirus restrictions have caused disruption to young people s routines, which has been difficult for some children to cope with and adjust to.
Support services have been harder for young people to access during the pandemic, with services either closed or severely reduced. Where services were transferred online, some young people found it difficult to access them, due to their disability.
Home learning has also presented several challenges for some young people, including accessibility of online lessons and reduced additional support.
Some young people have experienced delays in being assessed for support during the pandemic.
After returning to school, some young people found they were no longer receiving the same level of support as they had been given before lockdown.
The pandemic conditions have put additional stress on families where a child is disabled. Some parents have struggled to cope with the demands of caring for a disabled child with reduced support. Some children have also had to care for a disabled sibling during lockdown.
Some young people report being unfairly, and in some cases aggressively, challenged for not wearing a face covering, even though they are exempt from doing so.
To read more about the findings from the report go to:
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/2021/coronavirus-insight-briefing-deaf-and-disabled-children .
The report highlights the enormous difficulties faced by disabled children and their parents. However, the question now is what to do to combat these difficulties. The Council for Disabled Children has updated its extremely useful guidance for disabled children and parents of disabled children. This particular site has a very wide range of easily accessible advice, covering all areas of concern for the parents of Disabled children. Go to:
https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/help-resources/resources/covid-19-support-and-guidance .
A summary of the key areas of advice provided by the Council for Disabled Children is below. (In addition to advice for children and parents, there is advice for the professionals dealing with disabled children).
The CFDC offers the below advice and support:
Education support for children and young people.
Covid-19 Family Support Hub.
SEND Summer Support Hub.
WellChild - WellChild are offering a Direct Response Service to try and help families get the things they need including access to food delivery service and prescription collections.
Contact - Coronavirus: Information for families with disabled children. Disabled Children s Partnership (DCP) - A wealth of resources for families, covering a range of information, activities and condition specific advice
Family Fund - A collection of links from organisations that provide services, advice and other help to families raising disabled or seriously ill children including information o