Latest News for Parents & Carers

Disability Horizons writer, Emma Purcell, who is partially sighted and uses a wheelchair, shares a post from her blog Rock For Disability on tackling climate change if you’re disabled. “Climate change was high on the agenda in 2019, with protests, rallies, global summits and 11,000 scientists saying the world is facing a climate emergency. Although I do agree that changes are needed to tackle global warming, some things are being done the wrong way and many of the decisions being made are not taking into consideration the lives of disabled people.”

When you’re disabled, using public transport can be challenging, sometimes things go well and other times our negative experiences can leave us weighing up whether it’s worth the hassle. 21 year old Shona is a powerchair user and shares one of her more scary experiences:

Co-founder of Disability Horizons, Martyn Sibley, shares his thoughts on the past year and Disability Horizons’ plans for reaching and empowering more disabled people, as well as increasing inclusion and making a difference in 2020.

The Pansar family spent £65,000 to force Walsall council to provide the help that transformed their son. Like many nine-year-olds, Gyan Pansar lists riding his scooter, swimming and playing football among his favourite things to do. He is cheerful and inquisitive, and loves to be physically active. But it took three years of extreme will and determination for his parents to help Gyan, who is severely autistic, get to this stage.

When Bella Parkhouse was told by a hospital consultant she had multiple sclerosis (MS) at just 15 years old, she surprised everyone in the room by laughing. “I’ve got a nervous giggle – I was trying to hold it in,” she says. “I thought ‘ah well, it’s got a name now’. Nothing’s actually changed.” Beyond the nervous laughter, Bella’s diagnosis was unusual.