publication date: May 22, 2012
With
cuts to benefits and services, many families of
seriously ill and
disabled children are struggling to cope, even though
help is available, because they just don’t know it’s there.
A survey by new
disabled children’s charity Sky Badger shows that:
- only
9 per cent of families are told about disability support within four weeks of
diagnosis
- a shocking 34 per cent are never told about the help available to
them at all
- 78 per cent of families in the UK with disabled children or children with
terminal conditions are kept in the dark for a year or more about what
support is available to them.
Sky Badger will help parents get
respite care, so they can have a
night of unbroken sleep or just a couple of hours’ break; it will help them find out about
"make a wish" charities, funders who will help them pay for
mobility equipment, specialist insurance and counselling services.
But
Sky Badger will do even more than that. It will show
families where they can take their
disabled child ice-skating, or rock climbing or on safari.
Sky Badger exists to show disabled kids that
great adventures are possible.
Sky Badger patrons include Professor Stephen Hawking,
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger and
Gerald Scarfe.
