Sense blog | connecting sight, sound and life

Disabled adults and their families remain forgotten in government’s plan to get society back to normal

A man and a woman sitting at a kitchen table looking at the camera. Disabled adults and their families remain forgotten in plan to get society back to normal

Through our Forgotten Families campaign we’ve been highlighting the experience of Jane’s family, who’ve been struggling to support their 20-year-old daughter Faith throughout the pandemic without support. But we know Jane and Faith aren’t the only family dealing with the devastating impact of having their support withdrawn overnight. Our recent research, showed that 75% of those who had support withdrawn didn’t receive any warning before this happened, and a third of families are still waiting for any support to be reinstated.

Claire’s Story: Virtual London Marathon

Claire standing in a field with her five children. Claire is running the virtual London Marathon.

The changes to the London Marathon this year have been incredible for me. This is my first time running it and, having only been running for three years, this would be a huge achievement for me. My only concern would be not having my son, Hugo, there to cheer me on.

Toileting: Sue and James’ story

James is 13 and loves life but really doesn’t care about using the toilet. Sound familiar? So many families say the same. If their child has complex needs and a multisensory impairment, how should they teach them the skills of toileting? With very little help, James’s mum Sue kept on going even when professionals told her to give up. It hasn’t been easy, but this summer, James made a breakthrough. Read Sue and James’ story and get some tips on toileting.

Pass on something wonderful

Gifts in Wills are vital for our work, helping to provide specialist support for children who are deafblind or have complex disabilities, and services that allow children and adults to communicate, experience the world and live happier lives. Find out how you can pass on something wonderful.

Friendship trumps lockdown

We knew that Coronavirus, and the ways it has restricted all our lives, would also have a major impact on the people we support at Sense. It would be difficult for some of the people we support to understand why they were no longer able to see their friends, attend their usual centres, or go about life in their usual way.

We need to talk about toileting

When your child can’t see or hear, how do you even begin to teach her to use the toilet? Kiera has complex needs but her multisensory impairment is what made toileting really hard for her. Her mum Ashling makes no bones about it: she felt alone and she definitely couldn’t talk to anyone about Kiera’s smearing. But she kept going, believing in Kiera and using her knowledge of Kiera to guide her. Read Ashling and Kiera’s story.

Tackling racism

Today, Sense is publishing its plan for tackling racism, recognising that racism exists within every organisation.

The plan sets out the steps that we are taking within Sense, through better and ongoing engagement with our staff and volunteers, changes in our recruitment processes and working practices, and a commitment to publish data about how well we are doing as an organisation.

Identity – and why I’m determined to tackle all forms of racism

People adding jigsaw pieces to a person's head. Sense Chief Executive reflects on his own identity.

Last week, a report was published that highlighted the lack of diversity at the top of the 50 leading charities in the country. Sense is one of those charities and I have spoken before about the need for the sector to address this, and I am determined to address it head on at Sense.

As part of the report I was surveyed, an experience I found problematic, and it made me reflect on my own identity and how the way in which people perceive me has shaped how I see myself.