Latest News for Parents & Carers

Dan Bowhay, from Bishops Waltham, in Hampshire, used his disabled bus pass to travel from Land’s End to Marshall Meadows, in Berwick-upon-Tweed, a journey which takes just over nine hours by car, and filmed his journeys.

The Portsmouth Enablement Centre (PEC) made the limb for Tobi, who was born with a limb difference. His mum, Debra, said her son loved showing off his new prosthetic, and said the care he had received from the PEC was “phenomenal”.

Around 300,000 children, including those with conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, will be better supported to achieve and thrive as the government expands successful programme to help boost attendance and behaviour. Backed by £9.5 million in government funding, the Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme – which supports neurodiverse students by training teachers to identify and better meet their needs and improves parental engagement – will be extended for another year across a further 1,200 schools.

Almost a decade ago, the NHS launched a campaign to reduce psychotropic medication rates. The initiative, stopping overmedication of people with learning disabilities and autism (STOMP), went hand-in-hand with efforts to reduce the number of people in mental health hospitals.

Subjected to brutal bullying as a child, Amit Ghose says he still has to deal with constant staring, pointing and comments, and has even been refused service in a cafe because of his face. The 35-year-old from Birmingham described how visiting an independent coffee shop in London recently “everyone was staring at me, and it was like they’d almost seen a ghost”.