A fairer deal for children with special needs

If you do one thing outdoors this Easter, it is worth going to visit the Harlow Pact Garden at Harlow College.
I was invited to open the new Pact Garden last Monday
Built by apprentices in just six weeks, with the support of Pact and a local business 'Ridgeons', it is a very special place. Some of the Flowers spell 'Pact' reflecting the name of the garden and the importance of its existence. 
I have always believed that beauty is so central to all of our well being. Something which gives pleasure to the eye, helps generate a sense of calmness and peace. The new Pact garden will give students, teachers and visitors a chance to stand and stare a little, to reflect as they rush to and from classes.

I also went to an event that PACT parents had organised in Harlow Sainsbury's. The parents and children set up a PACT stand with pictures and piggy banks for donations and, most intriguingly, were handing out seeds of tomatoes, chard and french beans.
But, these were not just ordinary vegetable seeds. The tomatoes are stripey - yellow and white, the Chard - rainbow, and the beans - red and purple. Each seed packet says : ' Autism, let the difference grow'.
Harlow Pact is an amazing organisation that supports parents with autistic children and does a great job in providing a much needed help and advice network - as well as keeping me informed of relevant issues.

Through working with Sam Fancett and other Pact parents, I have been able to raise the needs of parents whose children have special needs and recently made a speech in the Commons about this.
I wanted to highlight three key points:

First, it would be helpful if more special schools could specialise, for example with an autism specialist. This would be an alternative to mainstream schools when children can no longer cope. I also think more mainstream schools should be able to build stronger links with their local special schools and perhaps even develop specialist units on site. Many Harlow Schools do incredible work with special needs pupils and should be commended. The league tables need to be changed - and made fairer - so as to reflect schools who have high number of pupils with special needs.

Second, I asked the government why it is so difficult for parents of children with autism to get a blue badge to park their car?  Parking in hospitals for clinic appointments with a child having a meltdown either in or out of the car can be extremely dangerous.  Having the wider car parking space to enable parents to help their children in and out of the car is vital.  Although there is a crack down on the abuse of blue badge holders, more needs to be done to support these parents and to make sure their lives are not made more difficult.
Third, I highlighted that with special educational needs, the decisions taken by local authorities need not be based on random choice or personal whim. There needs to be less of a "computer says no" culture. To borrow a phrase, our public services need to speak "human", and that means looking at each individual case on its merits, and talking to the parents and children involved. Less rules and regulations, more personal service according to need.

These parents are used to fighting to get what is needed for their children. But why should they have to fight. Parents who have children with special needs, deserve a fair deal.


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