Carers are turning to food banks as they struggle for work and support during the pandemic. Charity Carers UK says its research shows four out of five carers (81 per cent) have been providing more support to loved ones because...

People with disabilities, including autism, can travel beyond their local area for exercise during lockdown, the UK Government has clarified. And, just as in previous lockdowns, disabled people can go out more than once a day for exercise. Jane Harris...

Special needs pupils can still attend school during the new lockdown in England. Most pupils will learn online following the announcement that the country must lockdown again. But, as previously, vulnerable or special needs pupils with an education, health and...

Last-minute changes to coronavirus restrictions are a form of disability discrimination. That‘s the view of Steve Broach, a barrister specialising in disability and children’s rights. With a large part of the country now in Tier 4 restrictions, disabled people continue...

Work to improve autism awareness among trainee teachers in Scotland will be “life-changing”. That’s the view of Nick Ward, director of the National Autistic Society (NAS) in Scotland. The Scottish Government announced the move in a newly published action plan....

Seclusion and restraint must be better regulated in schools. That’s the view of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), in Northern Ireland. BASW policy officer Andy McClengahan has made the case for better regulation to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s...

Health officials have apologised for a botched investigation into the death of autistic teen Oliver McGowan. Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says it is “deeply sorry” for the failings of a Learning Disability Mortality Review (LeDeR) into Oliver’s death. Oliver, 18, had autism, epilepsy, a learning disability and cerebral palsy. He suffered an allergic reaction to antipsychotic medication at Bristol’s Southmead Hospital. His brain swelled so much it began to come out of the base of his skull before he died in November 2016. Parents Paula and Tom McGowan insist both they and Oliver himself warned medics  that he was allergic to antipsychotics. They asked in vain...

Autistic people surviving on highly restricted diets may become vulnerable to scurvy and eye disorders. New work led by dietician Summer Yule found severe nutritional deficiencies in narrow diets can leave people with a range of health problems. Yule’s work...

Learning disabled people are dying at a “shocking” rate from coronavirus. That’s the view of Dan Scorer, Mencap’s policy head. Scorer made the comments after a report showed that the virus killed almost 80 per cent of a sample of people...

The mother of a young boy with autism says his primary school forced him to stay in a small room alone with her and a teaching assistant for nearly two months. Stacey Jackson, 30, from West Lothian, Scotland, says son...