Fostering a disabled child

There is a real need for foster homes for disabled children across the country. Disabilities range from mild learning needs to severe physical disability. These children could be cared for in a loving home rather than a residential establishment, with the right training and support for the foster carer.

Some children have medical needs which require regular hospital visits as well as daily attention in the home for which foster carers are trained by the nursing and hospital staff. Some need to use a wheelchair and so the carer's home either needs to facilitate this or to be adapted for the purpose. Local Authorities are keen to place such children in foster homes, the cost of which is far less than residential, so they are willing to fund any adaptations and extensions required in the home.

Foster carers of disabled children gain so much from the experience but they do require a huge amount of support - both practical and emotional. It is good to have a support network of like minded people with similar interests, ideally who also care for disabled children - this can work really well for the looked after children as well as the carers. Recently a group of our carers in Crawley joined together for what was the trip of a life time for many of them and their children - they visited Florida, and took in all the sights including, even, swimming with dolphins. This was a wonderful experience for the children and was made possible by the commitment of a group of foster carers and the mutual support within the group.

Many of our fostercare staff have started their fostering career by caring for non-disabled children and then moving on to disabled children - they have never looked back. They build up their experience and skills and find they enjoy it more than anything else. Most such children are placed on a long term basis which also appeals to many foster carers, who find it very rewarding to offer a child a stable placement when so many have had frequent moves. These children come to have a sense of"belonging" to the foster family and their extended family and friends, despite many of them maintaining contact with their own birth families as well.

Fostering a disabled child is a challenge but from what I see in this agency, it brings huge rewards for the carers and of course the children themselves.