PMLD specialist homes needed

The tragic death of David Cameron's son, Ivan, has brought into focus the needs and rights of children with PMLD. It is obvious that children with PMLD are just as worthy as any child to be given the chance to develop to their full potential. This is what specialist schools and homes are all about and they are here to give these children and young adults the skills needed to give them as much fun and control over their lives as possible.

The national curriculum does not cover these children who are at such a low cognitive level so special homes set their own curriculum to fit in with the needs and aspirations of the children and their parents.

Medical advances have led to a longer life expectancy for a wide range of conditions and the number of children and young adults with PMLD is on the increase. Not all of these children are lucky enough to have a place at a special school or home that caters for their unique needs. Staffing is difficult in these special needs homes as teacher training in this country does not cover PMLD as it does in some other countries. This makes finding a school with the exacting requirements your child needs and with experienced staff difficult but there are schools and homes out there that fit the bill, but we need more with a positive can do approach.

However educating children and young adults with PMLD is expensive; children need 1 to1 care and expensive equipment which all adds up to quite a cost. But for parents, it is definitely money well spent; anything that can be done to improve the children's happiness and skills is essential. The homes also have to ensure that training continues as the children move into adulthood, a lot of these homes at this stage deal in care and rarely provide the education that is needed to keep these children moving forward. There is a need for more funding to combine this education with 24 hour care. It is for the government to get behind this kind of specialist schools as it is often the best way forward for children with PMLD.

One such company Home From Home Care was created by parents to offer a full range of learning disability home services which includes residential services, day care and respite care. They focus on providing for individual needs with an outstanding team who provide 1 to 1 support within very high quality environments and also in the community. Their 5 homes are all built to a very highly spec providing quality, person-centred support across Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.