Children with cerebral palsy ‘face postcode lottery’

Leading disability charity Scope has argued that children with cerebral palsy in England and Wales often face a “postcode lottery” relating to access for support nationwide.

The group has also claimed that it is only through joint attendance at schools with non-disabled pupils that children with cerebral palsy that equality in education will be achieved.

Cerebral palsy is a caused by non-progressive damage to part of the brain during development and manifests itself as a disorder of movement and posture.

Andy Ricknell, an executive director at Scope, said: “There are real issues faced by families in the inconsistency of accessing, for example, communication aid equipment and therapists to support the independence of disabled children.”

“Often parents face a postcode lottery as to what support is available geographically.”

He added that there is a need for greater investment combined with an enhanced desire for mainstream schools to fully include disabled pupils.

A recent study from scientists at the University of Newcastle arguing that children suffering from cerebral palsy have a comparable quality of life to those that do not was recently published by the Lancet journal.

In May 2007, the BBC reported that Chinese doctors are offering a radical approach to the treatment of cerebral palsy involving the injection of stem cells into the spines of patients.