Working hard to make life easier

FOR most families, going away on holiday is a normal, if chaotic, thing, but when one of your children has a disability it can be extremely difficult.

Add to that just how difficult it is for a family with a disabled youngster to feel "normal", and an increasing sense of alienation emerges.

One charity, PHAB, has been working hard to make life easier for disabled children and their families for 50 years now.

PHAB stands for Physically disabled and Able Bodied, and it was started with the aim of encouraging people with and without disabilities to get together on equal terms to make more of life together.

The PHAB St Albans group is based at St Luke's School in Redbourn, and meets frequently during school holidays. It currently has about 25 regular members, about half of whom have a disability.

The group's secretary Marion Jones started helping the group 30 years ago, when it was called the St Albans Sunshine Club, and hasn't looked back.

She said: "It was set up by a parent with a disabled child who wanted her child to get to know other children.

"I got involved because my son's best friend had a sister who had spina bifida, and I had had German measles when I was pregnant and it was touch and go whether my son would be alright. So it was a thank you I suppose. Things could have been very different."

Much of the group's activity revolves around going away to locations in the UK for days out or holidays where disabled children are specially catered for. Part of the service PHAB provides is respite for parents, but, Marion says, the group has so much fun that the parents usually end up going along too.

"We go on trips to the seaside or to museums," she said.

"We quite often go into London on the train, and walk along the South Bank but you have to do a reccy visit first to check the journey.

"You don't want to be suddenly faced with a flight of stairs when you've got disabled people in your party - you wouldn't be very popular with the people behind you.

"Our year normally starts off with a New Year party, and then at Easter we'll go and see a film together.

"We have day outings to the zoo or to a falconry centre, just the normal things really, and in the summer we have trips away.

"But we can only go to places where they have good disabled access."

Much loved by the group's members is the Wingate Centre near Nantwich, in Cheshire, which is a former isolation hospital that has been transformed by a trust into an activity haven for both disabled and non-disable youngsters.

The centre has a 6,000 sq ft gymnasium, equipped with traditional bars, vaults and beams, plus soft play shapes, a ball pool and trampolines.

All of the gym staff at the centre have qualified with the British Gymnastics Association, and Wingate also provides accommodation specially tailored to the needs of disabled people.

But a such a specialist centre naturally costs a lot of money to visit, and PHAB St Albans is currently trying to find funds to visit another, similar, destination, the Calvert Trust in Exmoor.

The trust has extensive indoor facilities but specialises in getting youngsters outside to take part in everything from pony riding and orienteering to sailing and archery.

Marion estimates the cost for the group would be about £8,000.

Earlier this year a trip that the group had planned to the Norfolk coast almost had to be cancelled when they lost out on National Lottery funding. But an eleventh-hour representation to St Albans District Council from PHAB St Albans chairman Allan Maher, who is just 20 years old, meant the day was saved.

Marion said: "Allan really is the most amazing chairman.

"He's been with us about three years, and when our previous chairman had to retire and Allan was nominated for the position, everyone's hands shot up in support.

"He's just astonishing, otherwise he wouldn't be in the role at such a young age.

His mother is a teacher at St Luke's School and now he's training to be a teacher as well. He has a fantastic bond with the children and a great understanding of their needs and their parents' needs.

"He's really proved himself over the years and is a great organiser."

The group caters for wide age range, from five years old to young adults up to 20, and has a junior and a senior division.

The emphasis at PHAB is on integration, and creating an atmosphere where everyone can relax.

"The children are made to feel really normal, because everyone's doing things on equal terms," said Marion.

"The more disabled children are given opportunities to do things that they wouldn't usually have had in the run of their normal lives.

The focus is really on having fun, and there are people there who are genuinely interested in what's happening to people. There is a lot of love in the club."

What you need to know about PHAB:

• PHAB was founded in 1957 and this year celebrates its Golden Jubilee.

n Local PHAB clubs cater for juniors (aged under 18) and seniors.

• The aim of PHAB is to give people who may sometimes feel isolated the opportunity to get together, enjoy each other's company and have fun.

• The senior group takes part in activities such as quiz nights, film nights, meals and parties.

• PHAB members take part in day trips and holidays to locations specially designed to cater for disabled people.

• There are more than 6.5 million people in the UK who are registered disabled, half a million of whom are wheelchair useers.

• One in four households in the UK will have at least one disabled member.

• Patrons of PHAB include Lord Snowdon and Sir Cliff Richard.