Latest News for Parents & Carers

Of the thousands of disability hate crimes reported to the police last year, just 1% resulted in criminal charges, two charities have revealed. Leonard Cheshire and United Response submitted Freedom of Information requests to 43 police forces in England and Wales and 36 responded. It found that out of more than 11,000 reports, 99% of cases went no further. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it wanted “to understand the reasons” behind the low number.

Rebecca Jeffery argues that autistic and neurodiverse teachers are vital for a more inclusive and effective education system. There are more than 160,000 autistic pupils in schools across England1, but I’m not aware of any statistics on the number of autistic teachers. Is such a statistic even relevant to the effectiveness of education for autistic pupils? Yes!

People with a learning disability are more than twice as likely to die from avoidable causes than the rest of the population. Actor Tommy Jessop and BBC Panorama investigated some of the stories of families who say they were let down by their medical care.

Campaigners have accused the government of “unforgivable” failings after previously unreleased figures suggested that the majority of successful disability benefit appeals were because of errors by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). According to previously unpublished data held by the DWP, 59% of successful tribunal appeals by applicants for the personal independence payment (Pip) benefit since the start of 2021 were because the tribunal “reached a different conclusion on substantially the same facts”.

An autistic man who has been held in a secure hospital for 21 years has been told he can finally go home. Tony Hickmott, 45, was sectioned after he had a mental health crisis in 2001, and despite a long fight by his family, he has not been released since. Last year, a judge criticised his detention, telling authorities to find a home near his parents, in Brighton.