Care

Here in the UK social care services are massively underfunded, resulting in huge reliance on informal carers, usually family members.

But when you read about the situation in some other countries, you start to realise how far we have come. It is not so many decades ago that, even here, parents of severely disabled children were encouraged to place them in large institutions at an early age and disabled people were considered ineducable. Nowadays there are many other options, including residential school or foster care, when parents do need help, but most are cared for at home and all receive a tailored education.

This article on caged beds in the Czech Republic is just too upsetting. I shan't be watching the TV news report tonight, because I can all too easily imagine how, in another time or place, it could have been son 2 in that situation. Instead we have a happy, loving and smart child who, despite all his challenges, is learning fast. He will always need care, of course, but that care must and will be respectful of his needs, not treat him like an animal.

Three notable things:

1. Dentist today. Again. I am suffering from a sore mouth and poverty.

2. I got wet walking to the dentist and wet again walking back...

3. I should have been doing Open University work this afternoon but didn't. Ho hum.