Anyone who has so much as glanced at the Special Needs board will already be aware of the gob-smacking mule-headed AWKWARDNESS of the system designed to support children with disabilities in this country, and how much precious energy is wasted by parents trying to negotiate their way through it. In this simultaneously touching and infuriating documentary, the Hon Rosa Monkton (pal of Princess Di, wife of Dominic Lawson and therefore Sil of Nigella Lawson, lawksamercy the dinner parties) meets ‘ordinary people’ struggling with much-loved but sometimes very difficult to care for children.
Monkton has two daughters, one of whom has Down’s Syndrome, and it appears to be a revelation to her that despite her concerns for Domenica, she has been amply cushioned by her wealth and by her child’s benign condition. David Cameron also appears to talk about his son, Ivan, and the camera has the good grace to pull back when he starts to cry. It’s an interesting show, and the system is a scandal of course, but one wonders what will actually change if he gets in.
