'My daughter had never been to a party'

Kate Skelton, 41, from Bromley, has a disabled daughter, Annabelle, now eight, who had never been invited to a birthday party - until a stranger got in touch via social media

- KATE SKELTON

'I remember vividly the moment the doctor told me my child was severely disabled. A thousand questions raced through my mind. Will she walk? Will she talk? Will she be able to read? To write?

"I couldn't possibly predict," said the doctor. "But you should prepare yourself for the fact she might never walk or talk." As well as worrying about milestones, I wondered if she would have friends, be invited to parties, have playdates... Would she be lonely?

Now my gorgeous daughter Annabelle is eight, I know some of the answers to my questions. Although she has curvature of the spine she can walk huge distances, but she often falls over and has muscle pain and fatigue. She can talk in simple sentences. She can't hold a conversation but she can make her wants and needs known.

And she doesn't have any friends.

MISSING OUT ON FUN

I remember being wildly excited when she came home from school saying, "Cassie, I want Cassie," over and over again. I'd never heard of Cassie before and assumed she was a new pupil at the school.

"Has she got a friend called Cassie?" I asked the teacher. "She keeps talking about her."

The teacher shook her head, "Oh yes, Annabelle loves Cassie. She's a teaching assistant. Annabelle doesn't have any friends."

And because she has no friends, Annabelle doesn't get invited to birthday parties. To me, it's this lack of inclusion, the absence of invites to celebrations and playdates that really upsets me and I'm keenly aware of the social events she misses out on.