Can school force child into a wheelchair?

angelicmary85

Afternoon All!

I'm posting to see if anyone can help me with this so I can help a friend.

Basically my friend's 4year old daughter is being forced into a wheelchair by the school.

This wee girl has Cerebral Palsy but can walk just as awell as any other child her age with the help of her wee frame and her speech is developing quite well.

She is in mainstream nursery but has a teacher devoted to looking after her. The school which the nursery belongs to, also has a dedicated team of professionals to help the special needs children that attend the school.

The school are forcing the wee girl into a wheelchair.

The wee girl's mum has been fighting the school for several weeks now as she doesn't want her daughter to be put into a wheelchair as there doesn't seem to be any need for it but the school and local HV are insisting that she uses one. The special needs centre that she attends are paying half and mum is paying the other half so she has to pay half of something that she doesn't want to get.

Mum has devoted her life to helping her daughter develop to the best of her potential and feels like the school are un-doing all the progress her daughter had made.

Is there any way at all that mum can insist on her daughter carries on using her frame instead of using the chair?

Thanks in advance for any replies, I won't be back on until later but please feel free to post and I'll relpy when I can.

Angelic x

Indie_Kid

Have they given reasons why they believe she needs a wheelchair?

RAS

I would have thought that the DDA applied here and that the school was failing to make reasonable adjustments.

Has mum contacted Scope or one of the other charities?

kingfisherblue

If the child needs a wheelchair, it would be provided by the local PCT - no need for mum to pay anything.

Presumably the child is under the care of a paediatrician - I would contact them and ask for an immediate appointment to discuss these concerns. Most doctors are keen to enable children to achieve their potential and would likely be a good support for the mum. After all, the paediatrician will know more about the child's condition than a HV or special needs centre, so their decision should be adhered to.

The only thing I would add is that the little girl might need a wheelchair on school trips - it might be safer and less tiring for her. My son uses his wheelchair when on trips, as he cannot walk very far without pain and breathlessness, so although he doesn't use it on a daily basis at school, I can send it in when necessary.

savingmummy

Your friend needs to put it in writing that a wheelchair is not nessesary for her plan of care whilst in the nursery!
And maybe also a medical letter to prove this too.
What are the reasons for wheelchair use? Do they have reasons? Does the little girl use a chair at home?

As she has SN`s there should be a care plan written up which shows care to be given and equipment needed to enable sufficent care.
Mobilisation should be encouraged imo! And if she manages well then this should not be restricted!

angelicmary85

sh1305 wrote: »

Have they given reasons why they believe she needs a wheelchair?

All they have said is that they think she needs it.

RAS wrote: »

I would have thought that the DDA applied here and that the school was failing to make reasonable adjustments.

Has mum contacted Scope or one of the other charities?

There has been someone with her since she started nursery, is that a reasonable adjustment? It took nearly 3 months to find someone she was late in starting nursery because of this.

kingfisherblue wrote: »

If the child needs a wheelchair, it would be provided by the local PCT - no need for mum to pay anything.

Presumably the child is under the care of a paediatrician - I would contact them and ask for an immediate appointment to discuss these concerns. Most doctors are keen to enable children to achieve their potential and would likely be a good support for the mum. After all, the paediatrician will know more about the child's condition than a HV or special needs centre, so their decision should be adhered to.

The only thing I would add is that the little girl might need a wheelchair on school trips - it might be safer and less tiring for her. My son uses his wheelchair when on trips, as he cannot walk very far without pain and breathlessness, so although he doesn't use it on a daily basis at school, I can send it in when necessary.

The paediatrician that she sees is in the special needs centre. It's a not like a day care centre, it's full of physio's and specialists.

What does PCT stand for?

savingmummy

pct is primary care trust!

angelicmary85

savingmummy wrote: »

Your friend needs to put it in writing that a wheelchair is not nessesary for her plan of care whilst in the nursery!
And maybe also a medical letter to prove this too.
What are the reasons for wheelchair use? Do they have reasons? Does the little girl use a chair at home?

As she has SN`s there should be a care plan written up which shows care to be given and equipment needed to enable sufficent care.
Mobilisation should be encouraged imo! And if she manages well then this should not be restricted!

The only reason given was that the school think she needs it. Mum thinks it's just the easy option for them to push her when they go for walks instead of letting her walk.

I agree 100% that she should be encouraged to walk, she doesn't use a chair at home. She can ride her wee trike and do lots of things on her own, she's a very girly girl (loves pink and handbags!) and has her own mind, she's such a sweet wee thing and I'm fuming that she's being treated like a burden and her parents feelings don't matter...but obviously I'm very biased!

angelicmary85

savingmummy wrote: »

pct is primary care trust!

Thank you!!

bumpybecky

how can they make her pay half of something she doesn't want for her daughter?

strongly worded letter saying that no funds will be forthcoming from the family and the whole issue might dissapear with a bit of luck

lolababy

Id request a meeting with all those in the team caring for her.Maybe you could go with the mum as a support. Its unlikley that the center would do anything that was not in the childs best interest .
As for paying for the childs wheelchair is that because its not one provided by the nhs.