Life chances of disabled young people

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Life chances of disabled young people

• Christine Lenehan
• Director
• Council for Disabled Children

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This presentation will.

• Concentrate on the issues affecting young people
• Look at the evidence of life-chances now
• Look at the opportunities for change
• Highlight key messages from the PMSU report
• Provide indicators of the way forward

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Disabled childrens lives in context

• Poverty
• Other peoples attitudes
• Systemic disadvantage
• Impairment
• Bullying

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A current assessment

• The time for a major turnaround in disabled
  childrens services is long overdue.The urgency
  of the situation is growing. Not only are some
  services provided at unacceptably low
  standards,but the prevalence of certain needs is
  increasing. Without change the situation can only
  get worse Audit Commission Sept 2003

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A changing picture-Children

• Rise in ASD
• Rise in children with complex needs
• The impact of Inclusion
• Changing priorities for Local Authorities

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A changing population

• Estimates for UK, using widest survey definition
• 11m disabled adults
• 24 of adult population
• 770,000 disabled children
• 7 of all children.
• Fastest growth in numbers is for children under
  16
• 1975 476,000
• 2002 772,000 increase of 62.

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Disabled Children at Risk

• Disabled children 3.4 times more likely to be
  abused
• 3.8 times more likely to be neglected
• 3.8 times more likely to be physically abused
• 3.1 times more likely to be sexually abused
• 3.9 times more likely to be emotionally abused
• Sullivan and Knutson 2000

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Children in Need Census

• Disabled children 7 of the total children looked
  after because of abuse or neglect
• Compares to average of 3 in general population

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A Changing Picture- Parents

• Increasing expectation on parents in relation to
  care and therapy needs
• Increasing expectation on services
• A mixed message re information
• A Society governed by image

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The additional costs of disability Research
Evidence

• 55 of families with a disabled child live in, or
  on the margins of, poverty. Professor Parker,
  2000
• Families with disabled children face on average
  three times the costs of parents with
  non-disabled children. Parker, 2000, Dobson and
  Middleton, 1998
• Estimated 15,000 families with more than one
  severely disabled child, who are particularly
  disadvantaged. Lawton, 1998, Parker, 2000

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Patterns of employment in mothers with, and
without, disabled children

• With disabled children
• 3 full-time
• 13 part-time
• 84 not working

• With non-disabled children
• 22 full-time
• 39 part-time
• 39 not working

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Disabled children some facts

• only 4 of disabled children receive support from
  social services
• prevalence of severe disability increasing
• up to 55 of disabled children live in poverty
• lower educational attainment for disabled
  children
• DfES figures

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Special Educational Needs Key Facts

• 1.1 of children educated in special schools,
  Almost 94,000 in total
• Nearly 9,000 in residential special schools
• Children with SEN 13 times more likely to be
  permanently excluded than those without SEN

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Inclusion needs to be a positive choice for
parents and young people

• Are children able to join fully in the life of
  their school?
• physical accessibility progress but still far to
  go
• evidence of exclusion from certain lessons,
  extra-curricular activities and social
  opportunities
• higher levels of unauthorised absence
• much greater likelihood of permanent exclusion

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SEN and Disability Tribunal

• Claims of discrimination
• 30 admission to or exclusion from school
• other issues
• school trips
• special events at school
• medication administration
• differentiation of the curriculum
• bullying

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Why?

• assumptions about disabled pupils
• lack of risk assessments
• administration of medicines
• school trips
• isolation from peers, punishment for behaviour
  related to disability
• bullying
• access to the curriculum
• selection arrangements
• combined SEN appeal/claim of discrimination in
  admissions

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What do disabled young people want?

• The same as other young people
• Meet with friends
• Use local leisure facilities
• Be safe
• Have girlfriends and boyfriends
• Go to work
• Live independently

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Disability Rights Commission Survey

• DRC survey of young disabled people by NOP found
  
• 25 felt discriminated against at school
• 49 say they missed out on PE or games at school
  
• 38 say they were bullied at school
• 32 say they missed out on longer trips away from
  school with their classmates
• 20 felt they had been discouraged

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Improving the life chances of disabled people

• Formally launched 19th Jan 2005
• Concentrates on early years, transition ,
  independent living and employability
• Implementation led by DWP
• Reinforces messages of joint working and joint
  accountability
• 20 year strategy

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Improving life chances-vision

• BY 2025 , disabled people in Britain should have
  full opportunities and choices to improve their
  quality of life, and will be respected and
  included as equal members of society

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Improving life chances key areas

• Access
• Childcare
• Early Education
• Childrens Centres and Extended Schools
• Evaluations
• Transition

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Chapter 6 Transition to adulthood

• Key ingredients to successful transition
• Planning focused on individual needs
• Continuous service provision
• Opportunities
• Short term priorities
• Continuity
• Families
• Personalisation
• Opportunities

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Where are we now

• Transition as a major challenge, muddled policy ,
  patchy practice , variable outcomes
• A changing population of young people
• A changing children and adult world
• A need to identify and promote good practice and
  good experiences

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What are the opportunities for change?

• An increasing recognition of the universal and
  specific needs of disabled young people
• E.g. Youth Matters. Independence , well being and
  choice, implementation of PMSU
• Some specific policies, Direct Payments, Person
  Centred Planning
• Some good practice

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What could change mean-for young people

• They are seen as having the same wishes and
  desires as other young people
• Additional needs are automatically recognised and
  met
• They are given real choices
• Even those with the most complex needs have adult
  lives they can look forward too

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What could change mean-for services

• Services pool resources and expertise
• Assessments are person centred and not repetitive
  
• Children and adults services work closely
  together
• Universal and specialist services both recognise
  their respective roles

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What will make change happen?

• Political will
• Spreading good practice
• Each person in the system taking responsibility
  for change
• The voice of disabled young people
• An effective vision

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Further information on good practice

• Transition Information Network
• www.myfuturechoices.org.uk
• Getting a Life quarterly e-newsletter
• Email Lwinters_at_ncb.org.uk