An extra burden for parents of disabled children

Children are expensive - and the parents of disabled children have many extra costs in addition to those faced by every family.

A nasty extra surprise may be in store for families with teenagers, as local authorities are now able to charge for transport costs to special schools once the students are aged over 16.

Parents often find the that they have to travel a considerable way in order to find a school or college that meets the needs of their disabled child: the nearest school is often just not an option. So it seems pretty tough to present them with a bill for transport when they really have little choice in the matter, and especially when the government is trying to encourage everybody to remain in full-time education until at least the age of 18.

In rural areas particularly, this extra cost can be quite heavy.

If you agree that this places an unfair burden on families, you can sign the petition that has been set up on Downing Street website:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/disabledtravel/

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