Latest News for Parents & Carers

Learning Disability England is inviting signatories to support its open letter to the government, urging it to prioritise the health of people with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities continue to face significant health inequalities and poorer health outcomes. The open letter to the Prime Minister sets out what needs to change to help people live longer, healthier lives.

More than half of parents struggle to find accessible holiday clubs for their disabled children, hitting family finances and forcing many to quit work altogether, according to a survey by a leading charity. A “stark postcode lottery” dictates who is able to secure a place for their child, according to the national disability charity Sense, which found an estimated 60,000 disabled children are living in areas of England with no holiday club provision for them.

DR UK opposes the Government’s plans to cut assistive software funded through Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). DSA is a Government scheme that covers study-related costs arising from being Disabled, such as assistive technology, specialist equipment, and additional costs like printing or enlarging documents.

Restrictive eating can develop as a result of a sensory aversion to food, a fear of eating, or a lack of interest in food (not recognising when you’re hungry). It can also develop following a period of poor health, from surgery, from a difficulty with swallowing, or from vomiting after food poisoning.

Learning disability nursing is a specialist service that risks disappearing from much of the UK. That’s according to a new report from the Royal College of Nursing which this programme has had early sight of. Low uptake of training, poor morale, and lack of career progression are just some of the reasons listed.