![Ann Maxwell #2[177073]](https://i0.wp.com/www.theedinburghreporter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ann-Maxwell-2177073.jpg)
We have received a letter from Ann Maxwell the founder of the Muir Maxwell Trust, an Edinburgh charity which aims to “provide practical support to children and their families coping with severe epilepsy and to increase awareness and understanding of epilepsy and help remove the stigma associated with the condition”.
Dear Sir,
Due to a recent definitional change, nearly 20% of all pupils in Scotland are now assessed as having an “additional support need” (ASN) by the Scottish Government. Once only encompassing those with a significant support need, a range of pupils, from those with minor behavioural issues all the way to those with complex disabilities, must now be given additional support from their schools.
This has diluted resources to the point that many severely learning disabled children and young people – those the Muir Maxwell Trust works with on a daily basis and the very group most in need of assistance – are in danger of simply being left behind.
The Scottish Government had a chance to rectify this situation with its most recent Draft Budget. Sadly, officials have ignored this burgeoning problem and promised no additional funds to help local authorities cope.
As schools buckle under the strain, the severely learning disabled are not necessarily getting the level of help they require to flourish.
The Scottish Government needs to step in and act immediately to end this state of affairs. We must give Scotland’s severely learning disabled children and young people the proper level of support they so desperately need.
Yours etc,
Ann Maxwell
Founder
Muir Maxwell Trust
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
