Mother Considers Leaving Job to Care for Son with Special Needs

Bisi Daniels, a mother residing in north London, is facing the prospect of resigning from her employment to provide care for her son. Her five-year-old son, Shaka, has been diagnosed with autism, global developmental delay, and is non-verbal. Ms. Daniels describes her efforts to secure appropriate support for Shaka as an ongoing struggle, particularly as his current school is failing to address his requirements. Consequently, she is now considering departing from her insurance job to home school him. She stated, “I deal with stressful situations all the time, but the battle to get things in place for my son is much more stressful. It sucks the life out of me”. Ms. Daniels, a single parent, explained that Shaka is unable to utilize after-school clubs due to his significant care requirements. To sustain her office employment, she currently finances a specialist babysitter who transports him to school in the mornings and collects him in the afternoons, four days per week. Ms. Daniels, who lives in Camden, reported that this arrangement incurs monthly costs ranging from £1,000 to £1,500. She remarked, “Specialist babysitters are not cheap and we, as parents, pay premium to ensure we can work and support our families.” She indicated that breakfast and after-school clubs would alleviate these expenses, but they lack the necessary staffing to accommodate Shaka’s specific needs. She mentioned that she has been attempting to transfer her son to a more appropriate school since November 2023. She stated, “I can’t afford the thousands of pounds in legal fees that it will require to get my son the help he needs at school.” She added, “I’m having to contemplate home schooling my son and leaving work.” She concluded, “It’s a bit of a desperate situation.” On Wednesday, Ms. Daniels is scheduled to address parliament regarding recent findings from the disability charity Contact. A survey conducted among 4,262 families with disabled children across the UK revealed that 62% of parent carers had either ceased employment or decreased their working hours. The average financial impact on their family income was a loss of £21,174. Furthermore, the charity’s research indicated that 32% of parent carers had foregone food for themselves, and 50% of families had incurred debt or borrowed funds over the last 12 months to cover essential expenses. In the preceding year, one-third of disabled children did not receive necessary therapies, and almost a quarter lacked specialist equipment and home adaptations. Contact reported that parents, on average, incur an additional £322 per month, or £3,864 annually, due to their child’s condition. Anna Bird, the charity’s chief executive, stated: “Disabled children live in some of the poorest households in the UK. She continued, “Many are faced with impossible financial choices every day – whether they can afford to attend their child’s hospital appointment or whether they need to turn off the freezer to save electricity for their child’s oxygen concentrator. Bird added, “The government needs a child poverty strategy that recognizes the unique costs coupled with employment challenges that families with disabled children experience. She concluded, “We need to see a strategy with clear and ambitious goals to improve their household incomes and reduce essential costs.” A government spokesperson indicated that its ministerial taskforce is formulating an “ambitious strategy” aimed at providing all children with the optimal start in life. The spokesperson further stated, “We’re rolling out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in England, supporting 700,000 of the poorest families with children by introducing a fair repayment rate on universal credit deductions, and we continue to support disabled children through the disability living allowance.”