This article is from page 12 of the 2013-01-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
A NEW Clare group, designed to help the parents of children with special needs, is helping vulnerable Clare families to come together and fight for their children’s rights.
The Clare Special Needs Parents Support Group was formed by Catherine Bourke in August of last year and already has more than 80 registered members.
Catherine, who is also a member of the DCA Warriors – a nationwide group that focuses solely on protecting families who have access to the Domiciliary Care Allowance – says that the success of the group shows how much of a need there really was for the group in the first place.
“It’s a place where parents can come if they have issues, if they need advice or if they just need to clear their head if they are having a bad day.
“It is a safe environment for parents to meet up.
“Everyone is vetted so everyone can feel comfortable sharing their own situation. It has been an amazing success so far,” said Catherine.
“The page is always there on Facebook and we have our coffee mornings.
“It gives parents of children with special needs a place to mix but it also gives the children a place to mix.
“The children don’t often establish friendships very well so this is an opportunity for them to get together.
“It can be a scary prospect for parents of newly-diagnosed children and something like this can really allow them to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Catherine is also member of the DCA Warriors, a group that has been fighting to retain Domiciliary Care Allowance for parents of children with special needs in Ireland.
“The system is no longer fair for the DCA allowance.
“You basically have to go out and prove absolutely that your child is in need, far and above the needs of other children.
“You can have a child with a full diagnosis but you still have to fight to receive your DCA,” continued Catherine.
“If you don’t receive your DCA, you also lose your Carers Allowance. So this is a massive threat hanging over a lot of familes. T
“hey [the Department of Social Protection] have taken DCA away from so many parents – but [that] doesn’t take away the disability.”
To find out more about either group, search for “Clare Special Needs Parents Support Group” or “DCA Warriors” on Facebook.