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Disabilities

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I know its nothing to do with SH but id really appreciate a bit of advice re: registering someone disabled esp children.
Ive been told today to register both my children as partially sighted ie, disabled to help with funding and help at school, but im really worried as to how this can prohibit their freedom in later years.
Thanks y'all sad
Quote by Sexysteph
Are you looking at statementing them under the statement of educational needs hon - in which case talk to the education welfare officer attached to your children's school. She/he will talk generally to you and if you wish to proceed is the person to start the official ball rolling.
Otherwise its a community care assessment through the health and social wealfare dept of your local authority.
PM me if you want.
Hope this helps
Steph biggrin

No this is initially just to register them as disabled so the local government is aware they are needing extra help. Then they can have a Statement of Special Needs, allowing them to apply for more one on one help in the classroom.
The actual certification of their disability is done by their Opthamology consultant at Addenbrookes hospital.
Im just thinking ahead and as to what this will mean, how it will limit them etc in the future ie, driving (if at all).
Quote by Sexysteph
Are you looking at statementing them under the statement of educational needs hon - in which case talk to the education welfare officer attached to your children's school. She/he will talk generally to you and if you wish to proceed is the person to start the official ball rolling.
Otherwise its a community care assessment through the health and social wealfare dept of your local authority.
PM me if you want.
Hope this helps
Steph biggrin

If it's a statement of SEN, the school will already be in the process of doing it. Genherts wouldn't have to initiate that.
Maybe you could ask your GP, he might know who you should register them with...presumably they will need some sort of letter to say that your claim is genuine. I didn't mean that to sound as if you're fibbing, by the way - just that if people are giving away money or help, they often require proof.
Their appointment is on the 1st July with the Opthamologist, so cant talk to anyone until then.
Just a bit gutted that after all this time, my kids been getting on okay (or so I thought) but now being told things are worse than I thought. I know its not life or death, but just want the best for your kids dont you confused sad
In my county there is a three tier system of help for the visually impaired - special units placed inside the First, Middle and High schools where the children work alongside mainstream pupils but have extra help at any/every stage. The children range from the totally impaired to those of lesser degree, moving from totally impaired from birth to progressive impairment for varying reasons.
As for driving, they would be subject to a vision test before being allowed to drive just like the rest of us. If corrective spectacles or lenses are worn then they can be worn too for the test.
:P
from some 1 who knows the to childern in question babe they can over come anything the are bright inteligent funny with big charactors that will take on the world with there family and friends and yes there sight may not b great but medicine is improving and hope is a great tool
and anyway look at the friends your children have amassed by just being themselves
and both can see well enough to wallop lumps out of your friends
babe my vote nothing in life will trully handicap your children it's only a word and they are a whole lot more than a word
and have you seen how they can ride there bikes without stabilisers
To get your child statement, as has been said before, the school should be one step ahead of you and already applying for the extra help.
SOME schools and authorities are a little lazy getting off the ground as extra help does come out of the school budget (they do get some money towards it, but not usually all) so you may need to push for the statement. You can do it now if your kids are having problems you dont need to wait for your appointment.
Most teachers will have picked up on your kids problems anyway and passed the info on to the headteacher for him/her to action. But it is worth making an appointment with them to make sure the correct action is being taken and what your wishes are.
The local education authority will have booklets/websites and sometimes counsellers for parents with children with special needs to help guide you through the process and point you in the direction you need to go.
As for benefits, you can apply for the forms straight away, they will contact the specialist direct for confirmation. If you get DLA remember to notify the child tax credit people as that will increase as well from the date of DLA issue.
As for the future, as jags said everyone is subject to sight tests (with corrective measures) for driving etc. Getting your child registered as partially sighted is not going to affect them any differently than not getting them registered. Except they will get a lot more help in school then applying for jobs when they are older.
I have a special needs child (she is blind as well) if you want to talk send me a PM and will give you my phone number. Good luck with what ever you decide.
kaz
If you can wait until saturday I can get the full procedure from my friend who's registered disabled and has been since she was a teenager, if this helps smile
Quote by leprechaun
from some 1 who knows the to childern in question babe they can over come anything the are bright inteligent funny with big charactors that will take on the world with there family and friends and yes there sight may not b great but medicine is improving and hope is a great tool
and anyway look at the friends your children have amassed by just being themselves
and both can see well enough to wallop lumps out of your friends
babe my vote nothing in life will trully handicap your children it's only a word and they are a whole lot more than a word
and have you seen how they can ride there bikes without stabilisers

Thanks babe :therethere: Yes all you say is true, they are extremely active and bright despite their eyesight (my 3 1/2 yr old just learnt to ride without stabilisers lol). I wil register them and just hope that they dont become 'labelled' or limited as an adult.
oh and thanks for teaching my son how to box rolleyes bloody pikey (TM. Rachel-Lane)
I'm sure I'm not alone in needing corrective lenses to enhance my sight. So don't worry about labels - have a look at Blue's introspective thread about labels and boxes. Take all the help, both manual and fiscal, that you can and use it to make the lifes of your children as fulfilling and joyfilled as possible.
Remember that labels are only sticky for a short while, they soon fall off. I've seen visually impaired children do the most amazing things, purely cos they don't know that they should be scared. Sometimes I really do feel that those of us with all faculties fully functioning (with mechanical help) are not the winners in life cos we take it so much for granted.
biggrin
Quote by GenHertsCpl
I wil register them and just hope that they dont become 'labelled' or limited as an adult.

The only thing that will limit your children is attitude .. and you are both good enough parents to instill in them that the world is their oyster.
I used to work with a chappy who was completely blind and yet he's climbed everest, flown halfway round the world in a microlight......
Miles has achieved more than many others would even dare consider.
Despite being blind for over 25 years, Miles has still lived his dreams, encouraging us to realise that "The only limits in our lives are those we accept ourselves."
His remarkable adventures in recent years, setting numerous world records in the process, include:
Attempting to be the first blind person to reach the South Pole, in the process man-hauling a sledge over 250 miles across Antarctica
Completing "The Toughest Foot-race on earth" - 150 miles across the Sahara Desert in the Marathon des Sables
Climbing to 17,500 feet in the Himalayas
Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt. Blanc- Africa's/Europe's highest mountains
Running the 11-day Ultra-Marathon race across China from Gobi Desert to Great Wall
Completing the "Coldest Marathon on Earth"- the Siberian Ice Marathon
Crossing entire Qatar Desert non-stop day/night in 78 hours without sleep
Circumnavigating 38,000 miles around world using 80 forms of transport
Setting Malaysian Grand Prix lap record for blind driver in 200kph Lotus
Setting new British high-altitude record for a tandem microlight
Completing more than 40 skydiving jumps to date
He is currently preparing to undertake a 35-day, 12,500 microlight flight more than half way around the world, from London to Sydney, Australia, with Storm Smith, relying on speech-output (developed by Software Express) on his instruments for navigation.

I've quoted this off his as he actively encourages VI or blind people to "seize each opportunity".
As you say we always worry about our kids futures, but I genuinely think you're overworrying (this time).
((hugs))
C x
Thanks Kaz and everyone else for your advice.
My daughter already gets a Teaching Assistant but she is shared with another pupil and they dont get the full support they need. This took us 3 years to obtain, because funding for Teaching Assistants are usually given to the more needy pupils ie. those with Autism, etc. Apparently once she is registered disabled, then she will then be able to apply for her own TA and instead of one hour a day, anything up to 5 hours a day.
Being registered also means that certain large print books are tons cheaper, ie, a dictionary the school want to order for her will cost £50 A PAGE, instead of £10 for the whole book when registered. Someones having a bloody laugh huh?! mad
Have to admit, their school has been bloody brilliant in persuing their teaching assistant funding, extra help and support from other teachers, and little things like making sure a teacher is by her side in PE (which she detests understandably). Teachers in my book are a very special breed and i greatly admire them.....xx
Your daughter's probably having to share a TA because she's not got a SEN ?
The thing with funding now is that it's given once for the whole academic year. Problems arise when seeking fiscal or physical help during the academic year as LEAs are not too keen to give out extra cash to schools. Keep at them though, it's the only way and there's only so much pleading the school can do for you.
I have a VI child in my class and even the simple things make such a big difference to him, like sitting him on the side of the classroom where he can use his good eye to see the board. You'd think that people would just do this, but they don't.
Get them help asap. IMHO, as a recently VI person, and a not so recently disabled one, it takes some getting used to. But once you realise that these things are there to HELP and not HINDER your life, it makes all the difference.
I think it might be better for them to know what hurdles they may have, and know how to overcome them sooner rather than later.
I spent the longest time struggling and not accepting help, seeing this as failure.
If I knew this was not really the case, from day one, I reckon I would have been much better able to deal with the shit life threw.
Hi I worked for the Disability Benefits Agency up till my back gave out 6 years ago. One easy way would be to put a claim in for Disability Living Allowance for your kids if their eyesight is that bad. That way they'd be registered disabled and you should get some money that will help with any treatments ( specialist teaching that you can't get on the state , etc ). My nephew and neice are both dyslexic and it was only thru them going to the INPP in Fife that they've been able to get their reading ages up to the level of their real age.
Best bet would be to speak to someone at your local Dept of Work and Pensions about Incapacity Benefit as well they will be able to help you out a lot better than I can since i'm way out of the loop with the new claim forms , etc.
And they are NEVER disabled , anyone that calls them that in a nasty way only need to be reminded that Stephen Hawkings is severely disabled , in a wheel chair , can't talk without using a pc synth , etc and he is one of the most intelligent people alive today. Its not what they look like , what they have problems with that counts its the person within. Beauty is skin deep , intelligence is our core being never let your kids think any different after all if we were all the same the world would be a very very boring place to live so long live diversity !!!
Davie ( 2 knackered disks in back , knackered cruciate ligament in knee and knackered tendon in ankle .... big fat and ugly but I dont give a monkeys lol )