Uncovering neglect and disability – Words by Alex Dave, Safeguarding Education Officer, LGfL-The National Grid for Learning.

Neglect is defined as the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical, emotional, and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. In England, data from the NSPCC revealed a 106% increase in recorded child cruelty and neglect, with offences rising from 14,263 in 2017/18, to 29,422 in 2022/23. This increase may partly reflect improved reporting practices and a greater awareness of abuse, rather than an actual rise in incidents​.

Disabled children are significantly more vulnerable to neglect and abuse compared to their non-disabled peers. Several factors contribute to this increased risk, including dependency on caregivers, a tendency to over-medicalise children who already have diagnoses, and a lack of adequate support services.

Increased risk of neglect

Disabled children can be more likely to experience neglect due to their higher dependency on caregivers. This may include the fulfilment of involved medication regimes, prescribed therapy programmes, feeding regimes, heightened supervision and much more. With this, there is greater potential for error, especially when multiple care givers can be responsible for quite intricate care tasks.

When recognising neglect, professionals need to identify that there is likely to be a significant impact on the child’s health or development. As education professionals, having a comprehensive understanding about a child’s health and care needs can be challenging, and consequently, we may not be as attuned to identifying neglect of disabled children, as we are for others. Their care needs may be complex, making it difficult to identify an omission.

For many disabled children, their health and development can already be compromised due to their condition/s, so establishing any further impact from omissions of care can also be extremely challenging.

Lack of input and support from key services

Recent research from the Disabled Children’s Partnership, ‘Failed and Forgotten’ (2023) suggests that 80% of parents with a disabled child, believe the support they receive does not enable their child to fulfil their potential. Often one parent or family member is unable to work as they try and fill the gap in care.

Families with disabled children often experience increased inequalities, enduring poverty, poor housing, social isolation and parent ill health. All factors that affect parenting and could also explain higher rates of neglect.

For children with predicted delays in development due to their condition, professionals may be less curious about the cause of additional developmental delays, and more likely to automatically attribute these to the child’s condition.

There can also be a reliance on medicalising a child’s presentation (behaviour, development and wellbeing) with any changes viewed from a medical perspective, rather than possible neglect.

Reporting and support

Disabled children may also face barriers in reporting neglect and abuse. Communication difficulties, fear of not being believed, and lack of accessible reporting mechanisms can prevent them from seeking help.

What can we do?

• Activate professional curiosity and be alert to neglect– discuss how the neglect of disabled children can be overlooked, so colleagues consciously consider it, rather than the automatic acceptance of a medicalised explanation for any changes to the child’s health or development. Colleagues should be reminded that sometimes situations are not binary – children could be experiencing both neglect as well as a change in their medical condition.
• Familiarise yourself with care plans– disabled children may have multiple professionals supporting them and their family. Use this network to understand the family context and the child’s individual needs to better recognise neglect, and utilise professional expertise to determine this.
• Align safeguarding and attendance monitoring– disabled children are more likely to have higher rates of school absence, and this can be an indicator of neglect. Are episodes of absence explored thoroughly? Is there a clear link in policy and practice between Child Missing Education and Safeguarding activity?
• Build positive relationships with parents– neglect is rarely intentional. Most parents adore their children but may struggle to meet their needs – especially when facing multiple inequalities. Engage and work with families in a supportive way to protect children, prevent neglect, and bolster the families’ resilience.
• Improved reporting mechanisms – develop accessible and child-friendly ways for disabled children to report neglect and abuse.

By understanding and addressing these unique vulnerabilities, we can better protect disabled children from neglect and abuse, helping to ensure they receive the care and support they need.

For more information, support and training about neglect, please visit https://neglect.lgfl.net