David Cameron's wife is pregnant

[Sabs1981]

Baby is due in September

So baby could possibly be born at No. 10 Downing street....

hmm, i can see both sides (BoF and Fio)

BUT

The Tories are the only party to say they will halt the closure of special schools, and end the ridiculous insistance on inclusion for all (am NOT anti-inclusion, but it should be done in the best interests of everybody involved, not because it is PC to "include" disabled children. an inclusion which far too often, imo actually means "exclusion" anyway)

that alone is worth a lot to me, as dd1 would fail miserably in MS
and i don't get any sevices either. dd1 was signed off from SALT when she was 3, has never had OT (in our old area, you couldn't get OT under 7 - I did once ask if that extended to phhysically disabled children too. they didn't answer) here, dd1 has never even been seen by a paed, let alone get any help form outside services. we've been here 18 months, and dd1 has been in SN school for the whole of that time. Everyone is more than aware fo us and uor needs, but nothing is done.

Respite? Don't make me laugh (not for want of asking)

nappies? no

No after school clubs, or other chidlcare emaning I cannot go back to work (I currently have a 40 mile commute to dd1's school due to LA inclusion policy (MS not suitable for dd1 under any circumstances). couple that with no after school care and impossible to find a job)

I am really not sure any of this would be worse off under Tories, tbh

BitofFun's post at 12.21 says it all really.

I have nothing to add to this other than to say that, this family is very, very wealthy. So for all those worried about either of their work-related performance post-baby, I really wouldn't. Being rich in a roomy house with plenty of space and spare rooms with a birth in the private wing of a top hospital, atended to by the best medical staff available (after all, noone is going to leave the prime minister or leader of the opposition sitting in her own blood for long, are they?) and the ability to hire maternity nurses, night nurses, nannies, au pairs etc without a second thought makes the whole experience of a new baby much, much less stressful (should they choose to do that, of course)

That's kind of you, thanks

My dd gets transport to school (another thing vulnerable to cuts, I suppose!), and they drop her off to afterschool club on a Thursday, along with some other children from her special school. It's in a portacabin and very unprepossessing, but the staff are fab. I have to pick her up, or arrange for somebody to, but it's only a couple of miles. For me, the difference between having her home at four and trashing the place, and having her home at six with a meal in her tummy and tired enough to start getting ready for bath and bed is literally a sanity-saver, as I'm sure you'll understand!

wife!

Well teh tories are considering a change to DLA that would mean you can only get it if SSD assess you as needy- so any of us receiving no services now would be worse off as at least for us a social worker is a pipe dream! No DLA = no CA, after all. And no thats not just rumours, I wrote to ask them if it were true and they agreed it was being considered though no decision was made- that terrifies me tbh, without CA / DLA for ds1 (DS3's thankfully is agreed until he is 16) we're completely unable to meet basic outgoings (my CA pretty much keeps the kids)

It is the last year with DH out of a FT job and on the most basic of working incomes (£3k plus student income) that we have realised just what help we have had tbh, I have been astounded at the kindness shown to us eg by LA and TC's at individual, staff levels.

We don't get respite either (we were turned down directly) and the DLA buys it for us, without it I couldn't tidy up or even bath, unless DH was about and he's supposed to be building himself a business which takes time.

So I do think it could be worse under the Tories, sadly.

Fio I am sure I read they were supposed to cover transport for after school- maybe IPSEA?

there will be cuts no matter who comes to power.

"Well teh tories are considering a change to DLA that would mean you can only get it if SSD assess you as needy- "

DLA is a pipe dream for most people now anyway, when my DS was paralysed with a spinal tumour I had to go to appeal and then they only gave him low rate mobility ffs, with my DD who has high end autism i've appealed so many times it isn't even funny anymore.

I can't get her into a special school as they are all full and can't afford to pay private and main stream schooling is horrendous for her she doesn't engage and then gets excluded for not engaging.

Labour certainly are not disabled friendly in any sense of the word. They've had 13 years to get there act together and frankly it's getting worse.

Agree Wanna but the Tories are for more likely to protect the wealthy few (himself included)when making those cuts.

I SAY AGAIN.

Separate the personal from the political.

FGS!

There is absolutely no evidence that the Tories are going to cut front line services for people with disabled children. Indeed, I am willing to bet that DC will make sure that does not happen give his personal experiences.

The Tories are pledged to cut out waste in the public sector and protect the NHS. That is all. What more do people want?

Labour has not made life easy for people with disabled children - as the examples on here amply demonstrate.

Reading your posts BOF and other mums who aren't getting the support they need really really angers me, I just don't get why MP's can be so bloody well paid and say it is because they are helping their constituents, when their constitents are not getting the support they need because they have no money...where is the money?

In the MP's pockets.

I know they are all the same (politicans) but Something has to be done to put an end to this and guaranteed the Tories are not the ppl to do this.

Ooh, shout at me again ABetaDad

Clarissimo has mentioned one piece of proposed legislation alone that would mean destitution for some families.

Atlantis- I hope you can find a carer's support place to help you claim the DLA you are obviously in need of, that's what I did (perhaps start a thread in SN?) and they've been brilliant. Our lives are a lot harder than the wealthy types the Tories exixt to look after, that's for damn sure.

BTW ABetdad, your quite the contradiction...

'Seperate the personal and political' Do you honestly think that DC reality is the same as the average joes???

I have no doubt he went through the same emotional ups and downs any parent would when having a disabled child, however he also has a huge amount of money and help at his disposal. The money and logistics are often the issues that cause the most unecessary stress.

Don't tell us to seperate the two and then use it to better your own argument.

BitOfFun/Mummytinks - it was Labour that was in power the last 13 years. It was Labour that left parents of disabled children struggling for the last 13 years.

David Cameron had no power to change that. Yes he used his own money to manage his own son's illness. Wouldn't any parent?

While we are on the subject. When Cherie Blair gave birth to Leo in 2000 it was discussed in the media including photo opportuities]]. Whenlost her baby in 2002 it was immediatley announced in the media. As she writes in her book.

It doesn't sound that great for those of you with disabled dc at the moment tbh. More should be done and it would be nice if someone - I don't care who - came a long and got rid of the detritus that plagues so so many of our public services. Fact - money needs to be saved from somewhere, hopefully DC would take his own experiences and help make things better for those parents. We have yet to see, but if cuts are going to be made somewhere - who is to say that Labour aren't going to do it too. We all know politicians say exactly what they think we want to hear and then go ahead and do their own thing anyway.

With regards to them having another dc, I think it is wonderful for them on a personal level. They have had a crappy family year, have obviously made the decision to have another child and have either concieved naturally (in which case, in gods hands be it as there is no certainty is there ladies?) or by IVF, I have a friend who has had IVF for her dc and it didn't happen a) 1st time, b) without a great deal of heartbreak. It may well help them politcally but will probably alienate them from the children hating, family hating etc etc. Also would you be congratulating Nick Clegg or Gordon Brown if it happened for either of them or would you be saying it was a politcal stunt - lets face it GB hasn't had the easiest of rides with having his family either.

" Also would you be congratulating Nick Clegg or Gordon Brown if it happened for either of them or would you be saying it was a politcal stunt - lets face it GB hasn't had the easiest of rides with having his family either. "

I'd be congratulating them tbh. Let's be fair here, Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg both put out statements congratulating the couple and that's how it should be. I remember Gordon Browns statement to the house when Ivan Cameron died, I believe that was also heart felt having been in that position himself.

I still think it's wrong that people are being so cruel as to say they only got pregnant to grab votes. If Sarah Brown was pregnant I wouldn't change my mind on whom I would vote for because of that.

atlantis that is what I mean, we should be congratulating anyone as we would friends or acquaintances. By saying it is a bit of a political stunt is for me like someone in my workplace saying that I am only having a dc to go on maternity leave and so that I can't be made redundant unlike the rest of the company could be, urh yes that is exactly why I am having a baby......

Bedraggled wreck- yup, sounds just like me too, Riven. Almost home time now- once more unto the breech, chaps!

Atlantis- I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that, but the Conservatives will surely milk it for votes, that's for certain. Very convenient for them.

"Atlantis- I hope you can find a carer's support place to help you claim the DLA .."

Thanks Bitoffun, but isn't the point that I shouldn't need to do that, the point of DLA is to help people who need it and yet it's a well know fact on disability sites that most cases are turned down and you should expect to go to at least one appeal. That's wrong.

When you get to appeal there isn't one person on the panel who has a clue what autism is about let alone high end autism. That's wrong. They should get rid of the 'law' person (thats what the clerk should be for), the gp should have extensive cross disability training in all aspects of disability and the disabled rep should be gone replaced with someone who has a clue.

Labour have had 13 years to make it better and frankly they have made it worse. My sister claimed under a tory government in the early 90's, she didn't have to go to appeal, the thumb screws didn't come out.

I just can't understand where labour went so wrong.

Riven, I think you'll find that you are an exceptional woman.
MP You see, there I was giving him the benefit of the doubt, and then you show us that.
I think I need to bleach my eyes..