Success is just a dream for the disabled

DISABLED children dream of being rich and famous - even more so than their able-bodied peers - but without a change in public attitudes even their most modest hopes will go unfulfilled according to new research.

A survey of 500 seven to eleven-year-olds published today found that more than six out of 10 disabled children want to be rich and famous compared with half of able-bodied children.

They shared childhood desires and dreams - from glamorous aspirations of being a Spice Girl or a Manchester United player - to more down to earth hopes of getting married or having a job.

Yet earlier studies show that without more support, even the more modest hopes of disabled children will go unfulfilled. The national employment rate currently stands at 73 per cent, but this falls to a third for disabled adults. Research by Scope in 1990 showed that job applicants with cerebral palsy were six times less likely to be invited for a job interview than non-disabled applicants.

The same amount of disabled and non-disabled girls wanted to be pop stars and nearly one in five disabled boys yearned to be a footballer. "I wish I was Posh Spice," said one nine-year-old girl with physical disabilities. "I'd like to play football for England and go to the World Cup," said a nine-year-old dyslexic boy.

Nearly two thirds of disabled children and 54 per cent of non-disabled children said they wanted a job that helped others and six out of 10 of both types of children wanted to get married.

"I would like to be a teach as I think I would be more sympathetic to disabled children," said Rebekah, nine, from Warrington. "People sometimes don't understand that it's harder to do some things if you have cerebral palsy."

"I would like to be able to run faster and do a lot more things at school," said Louis, 10, from Bournemouth. "I think if I could do all these I would be a lot more popular and I would like it because I would not think of myself being handicapped. I think I would have more friends."

"All children whether disabled or not have dreams for the future," said Richard Brewster, Scope's chief executive. "achieving those drams depends on many things - not least determination and hard work. But disabled people have to overcome far greater barriers than non-disabled people ... a change in public attitude and tangible commitment from employers and government are needed if the disabled children we have surveyed are to get an equal chance in life."