Having a child with additional needs?

Having a child with additional needs can be costly, time consuming, tiring but ultimately rewarding. All of the extra stress and work can put pressure on relationships. Below you will find some statistics about caring for a child with additional needs in the UK.

How many children have additional needs?

• There are 570,000 children with disabilities in England. (1)
• There are 770,000 disabled and chronically ill children. (2)

Are relationships affected by having a child with additional needs?

• A survey of couples caring for a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder found that 65% of couples had divorced, separated or experienced marital distress. (3)
• In a survey of parents caring for a child with a disability 53% believed it had caused either ‘some’ or ‘major’ difficulties or the breakdown of the relationship. (4)

How much does it cost to raise a child with additional needs?

• The cost of bringing up a child with disabilities is £7,335 per year compared to £2,100 for a non-disabled child. (5)

How much time do couples spend caring for a child with additional needs?

• 1.2 million people of working age provide care for 20 hours a week or more; three quarters of a million are either economically inactive or work part-time – of these, 70 % are women. (6)
• 15% of those who receive more than 20 hours unpaid care by adults are children.
• 26% of married couples with children who are providing unpaid care are caring for their own child. (6)

References:

1. HM Treasury. (2007). Policy review of children and young people: A discussion paper. Available from: http://hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/9F7/46/cyp_disabledchildren180507.pdf
2. National Statitsics. (2004). Living in Britain : Results from the 2002 General Household Survey. Available from: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/lib2002/default.asp
3. ADDISS. (2006). ADDISS Families Survey. Available from: http://www.adhdisreal.co.uk/survey.htm
4. Contact a Family. (2004). No time for us: Relationships between parents who have a disabled child: A survey of over 2000 parents in the UK. London: Contact a Family.
5. Beresford, B. (1994). Caring for a severely disabled child. Social Care Research Findings, 54. Joseph Rowntree Foundation: York.
6. Smallwood, S. & Wilson, B. eds. (2007). Focus on Families. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.