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Disabled children are missing out on fun, says report
Paul Carter
Disabled children miss out on the opportunities and activities enjoyed by non-disabled children, according to a new report.
The Going Places! report*, published by campaigning group Every Disabled Child Matters (EDCM), found that disabled children routinely miss out on activities such as going out with friends, spending time away from their parents or going out in their local community.
It calls on the government to involve young disabled people in deciding how funding from the its play and youth strategies would be spent, and local authorities to ensure that all youth workers receive disability equality training.
Claire, a disabled young person, said: “I don’t want to feel like I’m a nuisance or somebody different. I just want to do everything that everyone else does.”
Christine Lenehan, EDCM board member and director of the Council for Disabled Children, added: “We urge the government, and all play and youth workers, to have high expectations for disabled children to enjoy the same childhood and teenage experiences as their non-disabled peers.”
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was unable to comment on the report.
Caption: Secretaries of state Ed Balls (left) and James Purnell (right) at an EDCM fringe event on the report at last week’s Labour Party conference