There are fears parents in Lancashire with disabled children are being forced to go hungry over lockdown

The past year has been tough for families everywhere, but for those raising disabled or seriously ill children, the last 12 months have presented additional challenges.

Stats show 10% of parents without disabled children say they have cut the size of their meals or even avoided eating altogether in a bid to save money, according to the Nation’s Conversations “Mealtimes For All” research by McCain.

However, mums and dads raising disabled and seriously ill children have been hit the hardest, with 42% of parents skipping or cutting down the size of their meals and nearly half delaying paying household bills so that they can afford food.

Christine McGuinness has three autistic children and is an Autism Awareness Advocate, she said: "I think families are feeling really isolated and families with children with any kind of disability or serious illness or additional needs are finding it more and more isolating now that everywhere is closed.

"A lot more are reaching out to foodbanks as well which is quite heartbreaking to read but that's the reality of what's happened during the pandemic.

McGuinness told us some of the challenges she's faced with her children over the pandemic: "Autistic people really don't like change anyway, for most of them that is quite common that they struggle with change, so obviously overnight everything changed and we all just had to adjust and find different coping strategies for them.

"The latest struggle has been getting them back out, getting them back into some kind of normality going to school."

An alarming 88% of families raising disabled or seriously ill children admitted that some of the time or often they feel isolated from others.

Over three-quarters (79%) of those polled believed the pandemic has worsened the health and wellbeing of their disabled or seriously ill child.