Parents Of Disabled Children Skipping Meals To Save Money

The government has been asked to leave families with disabled children out of benefits cuts after a charity found many are skipping meals or cannot afford to heat their homes.

The Counting the Costs 2012 survey run by charity Contact a Family painted a sad picture of life for those caring for a disabled child.

It found that families with disabled children were "more likely to be living in poverty" and said additional costs of transport, specialized clothing and dietary requirements put pressure on household budgets.

"Families with disabled children are going without essentials and spiralling into debt, even before the full impact of planned benefit cuts is felt," a spokesman for the charity said.

"We are calling on the government to exempt families with disabled children from cuts to financial support and to target additional support to families through Universal Credit when they publish the detail of the new single monthly payment."

The research found that of out of families with jobs, one in seven are missing meals and one in six cannot afford heating. In families where parents cannot work due to care responsibilities, the figures climb – 24% go without food.

Moira Hookings, whose son has autism, said: "I regularly go without meals to make sure Leon has enough. He gets upset when I don't eat but I just tell him not to worry as I'm not hungry."

(NE)