If you’re thinking about fostering children with disabilities, you might picture wheelchairs, hoists, and an adapted home.
While in some cases, this might be the reality when you foster a child with complex physical or medical needs, in others, they could have a hidden disability like ADHD, autism, or FASD, which means they require a different kind of support.
From what invisible disabilities look like and how common they are, to how they impact children’s lives and what you can do as a foster parent to support them, join us as we take a closer look at hidden disability foster care.
What is an invisible disability?
In the UK, around 70 to 80% of disabilities are ‘hidden’, meaning they aren’t immediately apparent to other people. Unlike some physical disabilities, which may be more visible, hidden disabilities, also known as non-visible or invisible, can often go unnoticed by others.
However, just because a disability or additional need isn’t immediately recognisable doesn’t mean it has any less of an impact on a person’s everyday life. From communication and behaviour to sensory processing and managing everyday situations, hidden disabilities can affect a child in several ways.
When people hear the words ‘invisible disability’, they might automatically think of conditions like ADHD or autism. While these are examples of ‘non-visible’ disabilities, there are many other conditions that fall under the ‘hidden’ umbrella, such as:
- Mental health: Anxiety, depression, OCD, eating disorders, and PTSD.
- Chronic illness: Diabetes, asthma, coeliac disease, and endometriosis.
- Neurodiversity: ADHD, autism, FASD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and dyscalculia.
- Energy and pain: Chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain, migraines, and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes.
- Cognitive: Brain injury, processing difficulties, and executive dysfunction.
- Sensory: Hearing loss, tinnitus, sensory processing difficulties, and visual loss.
You can find a list of hidden disabilities and learn more about the challenges they can present on the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower website, an organisation founded to raise awareness of non-visible disabilities.
How to support a child with a hidden disability
At FCA, we’re here to help our foster parents feel confident and capable on your fostering journey. That’s why we’ve selected our top five tips for supporting children with hidden disabilities:
1. Understand the child’s condition
One of the best ways to support your foster child with their non-visible disability or additional need is to make sure you’re fully aware of what their condition is and how it impacts them as an individual.
Even if you know another child with the same diagnosis, it could present differently in your foster child. So do your research and pay attention to your young person to understand what individualised support they need.
At FCA, as part of our ongoing training, we offer specialised courses on topics such as ADHD, autism, FASD, and more, that give you the skills and knowledge to care for children with hidden disabilities.
2. Collaborate with professionals
When fostering disabled children, you aren’t expected to take on the role of their whole care team. You’ll work closely with relevant professionals to ensure your foster child’s needs are met and their entire well-being nurtured.
In addition to the help you’ll receive from your young person’s health care team, such as their GP, consultant, occupational therapists, or CAMHS, you’ll also have access to wraparound foster care support from us here at FCA.
Our Team Parenting Model includes input from therapists, social workers, education leads, participation officers, and other foster families, giving you even more people to lean on and learn from on your fostering journey.
3. Create safety and predictability
You and your home are your foster child’s safe place, and after a long day of managing their symptoms and, in some cases, masking, they need to feel able to relax and be themselves.
Make sure you have a predictable routine, with the same mealtimes and bedtimes so the child in your care knows what to expect, and that your home is adjusted to their needs.
For example, if you foster a child with sensory processing difficulties, you might have soft lighting, unscented products, and blackout curtains to prevent sensory overstimulation.
4. Always look beyond behaviour
For many children in care, their past experiences have taught them that expressing their thoughts, feelings, and needs is unsafe. As a result, they might struggle to tell you what’s going on in their inner world and whether they are finding things challenging.
This means they’ll often express themselves through their behaviour instead, and as their foster parent, you’ll need to work out what their actions are telling you.
For example, if your foster child has a meltdown every time you go to the supermarket, it could mean they find the environment overstimulating or triggering. You can then reach out to professionals in their care team and from FCA to support them more effectively going forward.
5. Celebrate their strengths
Your foster child’s hidden disability is part of who they are, but not all they are, so avoid letting it define them.
Focus on the small wins and what they can do, rather than centring everything around their condition. Encourage them to build connections with children who share similar struggles and enrol them in activities that they love.
This will help build their self-esteem and develop the independence they need for life after care.
Want to learn more about disability fostering?
If you want to make a difference in children’s lives by becoming a foster parent, call us today on 0800 098 4148 or submit your details via our online form to learn more about fostering children with disabilities.
From the fostering process, support, and training to fostering allowances and the benefits of choosing FCA, our friendly fostering advisors are ready to answer your questions and help you change young lives.
