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A support scheme for young disabled children and their families has transformed their lives, says Sue Learner Twenty years ago, Helen Norris, now head of pre-school services for the London borough of Bromley, gave birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome.

Twenty years ago, Helen Norris, now head of pre-school services for the London borough of Bromley, gave birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome.

'I felt so frightened when they told me my son had difficulties,' she says.

'They sat me on the edge of a bath at hospital and said you don't have to take him home, he will never be more than a vegetable. I was in my mid-20s and had had little contact with children with disabilities. It was very scary.'

Helen, who is head teacher of the Phoenix Children's Resource Centre, has ensured that parents in Bromley are not told about a child's disability in that brutal way. 'We have done some work around sharing the news of the disability, ensuring it is presented in a sensitive and supportive way.'

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