Latest News for Parents & Carers

Leading disability charities have called on the government to ensure that people will continue to be able to use physical cash in shops. It comes after a government minister said that shops will not be forced to accept cash, despite concerns that millions of vulnerable people rely on it.

The mother of a severely disabled young woman was left in financial hardship after her carer’s allowance was wrongly stopped while her daughter was seriously ill in hospital. Rachel Adam-Smith, 48, spent five weeks in hospital alongside her 22-year-old daughter who was being treated for severe gastrointestinal issues.

The NHS has apologised to a severely disabled teenage girl for threatening to fine her for a prescription she was entitled to. Ruby Parr, 17, was diagnosed with a rare chromosome disorder, Idic 15, at just six months old, and needs round the clock care.

Meet Hattie Mander, the 7-year-old fundraising superstar who bravely cut her long locks to help raise vital funds for Contact. Hattie has an autistic cousin called Arthur who Contact supports, as well as other family members supported by Young Epilepsy. She wanted to help more families with additional needs like theirs, so she decided to fundraise for the two charities by braving a big hair chop.

Children in England experience huge variations in having their special educational needs identified depending on school type, background and levels of absence, according to research by the Education Policy Institute (EPI).