The basis of fostering children with disabilities is the same as every other; to provide a safe, loving home for a young person.
We have foster carers with experience and expertise in caring for children with additional needs, including profound disabilities.
The basis of fostering children with disabilities is the same as every other; to provide a safe, loving home for a young person. With disability fostering, that young person might have special educational needs, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Global Development Delay, or various physical disabilities.
As a foster carer looking after a disabled child, you will have access to relevant training and information. You will advocate for your young person to ensure they get the best quality of life and education.
You must be willing to undertake training; in some cases, your home may need to be adapted appropriately.
It is not easy fostering a child with special needs, but it is hugely rewarding, as our foster carers will tell you.
As children grow older and want to explore their independence, and the world around them, fostering a young person with a disability can cause unique challenges and questions. Ultimately as foster carers, we want to keep them safe above all else, as well as help them grow into self-sufficient, happy, and responsible adults.
A week after my panel approval, I was offered the placement of a 12-year-old girl. She was described as bright but with global learning difficulties. Given my previous experience of teaching teenagers and supporting those with SEN (special educational needs), I thought this would be a challenge I could meet as a ‘Newby’.
She turned up on my doorstep, beaming and quite excitable, and gave me a warm hug. We bonded that evening while laughing over the antics of my cat. G has been with me ever since and has contributed greatly to my family whom all admire her resilience and exuberant character.
Due to her astonishing adaptability with the support of my family, the placements have been going well and I now have her on a permanent basis. She has a global learning disability and is emotionally young for her age, but I’ve managed to support her through constant help from Nexus Fostering, her school and her local authority social worker. This support has been reinforced through regular meetings, strong communication and good working relationships.
Therapeutic fostering is specialised for children and young people who endured trauma before being placed in care.
Parent and Child fostering is about young families together, where a parent and child stay with you when they need extra support. In most cases, the child is very young.
Permanence is long-term planning for a child or young person’s upbringing. The aim is to offer children a secure, stable, and loving home to last through childhood and beyond, providing a sense of security, continuity, commitment, identity, and belonging.
