Children with a Disability and those Children who May Need Specialist Medical Help

Children with disabilities and additional health needs are children first. All children need individualised care and support. You will be helped to understand and meet their day-to-day needs. Care provided should be sensitive and responsive.

This chapter talks about children who have disabilities and those who have additional health needs. There are a many different of disabilities and complex health needs but you must remember that if you are caring for a child with these needs, there will have been at least one professional who has a clear idea about what the disability is and what it means for the child to function on a day-to-day basis. If you need information or help please ask your supervising social worker.

The child may need a coordinated approach from other services such as health, education and social care to meet their needs.

Disabled people often find that their disabilities are the first and only thing that people notice about them and remember that the child should be thought of first before the additional needs.

Children with a disability might need are:

• Help with physical disabilities like mobility issues.
• Help with learning difficulties and social disorders such as those on the Autistic Spectrum;
• Sensory impairments (e.g. partial sight).

 Children with complex health issues might need:

• Edication and to help with epilepsy;
• Help with breathing, eating and other daily functions like using the toilet and bathing.

Some children may need help in both of these categories. Some children have entitlements to benefits that are not affected by being in a foster home. See Money Matters and Insurance.

If a child needs additional help, you need to be in a position to provide this. This means that these things should be in place before the child moves in:

• You may need specialist training from a suitably qualified medical professional. This could include giving s medication or treatment and understanding the child’s needs;
• You should be provided with suitable equipment such as a hoist or a special car seat or wheelchair;
• Where there are risks around manual handling, risk assessments need to be completed.

When considering caring for a child with a disability or additional needs, you need to be given the full information about the child’s care needs. The Placement Planning meeting will detail all the support including medical needs the child has. It should be clear what decisions you can make regarding the child’s day-to-day life including medical decisions. This might be under Delegated Authority. 

All children with a disability should have an Education, Health and Care Plan which identifies the help they need to get the best out of going to school, pre-school and college. You should know what this says before a child is placed.

Assessment need to consider long-term perspective. This will help you, the birth family and professionals to make decisions about the kind of help needed, at different points in time, for example with education, respite or other services.

Your Supervising Social Worker or the child’s social worker should help you to identify appropriate support and advice from relevant agencies including following their interests and taking part in activities they are interested in.

Local authorities in England have a duty to develop and publish a Local Offer setting out the support they expect to be available for local children and young people aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs (SEN) or disabilities, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care Plan (see School and Education).

The Local Offer should be available via the East Sussex County Council website.

The Local Offer must include information about:

• Special educational, health and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities – this should include online and blended learning;
• Arrangements for identifying and assessing children and young people’s SEN – this should include arrangements for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments;
• Education provision and post-16 education and training provision;
• Information about provision to assist in preparing young people for adulthood;
• Arrangements for travel to and from education institutions;
• Childcare, including suitable provision for children with disabilities and those with SEN;
• Support available to young people in higher education, particularly the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) and the process and timescales for making an application for DSA;
• Arrangements for resolving disagreements and for mediation, and details about making complaints.

The Local Offer must include provision in the East Sussex County Council ’s area, and also provision outside the local area that East Sussex County Council expects is likely to be used by children and young people with SEN for whom they are responsible and children and young people with disabilities. This could be provision in a school or further education college in a neighbouring area or support services for children and young people with particular types of SEN that are provided jointly by local authorities.

There are various e-learning courses available to our carers as follows:

• Caring for a Child with Physical Impairments;
• Caring for a Child with a Learning Disability;
• Caring for a Child with Down’s Syndrome.

See also:

• Pan Sussex Safeguarding Children with Disabilities;
• Short Breaks Statutory Guidance;
• East Sussex Community Information Service (ESCIS);
• Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs.