Our story

In 1967 the government called together a group of experts and professionals led by disability advocate Dame Eileen Younghusband to look at how disabled children were being supported in achieving best health outcomes and independent lives.

This was a time when disability was seen as a problem that needed fixing rather than a society with barriers that need removing. Inclusive education movements were in their infancy and parents, children and young people had no voice and very little control over the services and support they could access.

In 1970 the group took their findings back to government and made several strong recommendations, some of which have been achieved and many which the sector still aspires to today. They included a call for better integrated services to ensure a cross sector approach to support and early intervention to help children get the best support at the earliest stages.

They called for better support to help young people as they moved into adulthood and better inclusion to support young people to have independent lives. Most importantly they called for equality of opportunity for all children.

The Council for Disabled Children is part of the National Children’s Bureau family.