Cumbria Adoption welcomes Ellie Simmonds' disabilities plea
Cumbria’s adoption service has welcomed paralympic swimming champion Ellie Simmonds’ heartfelt plea for more people to adopt people with disabilities, after she won a Bafta award for best single documentary last night.
The 29-year-old, who was born with a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, won for her 2023 film Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family – which saw the athlete track down her birth mother.
“If you want to adopt, adopt people with different disabilities, there’s so many people out there that need adoption, and need love, and need families,” Simmonds told the star-studded audience at the Royal Festival Hall and TV viewers.
“I want to say thank you to my parents, my mum and dad, and I wouldn’t be here without them and adopting me and also adopting my four other siblings and fostering as well. I love you.”
Cumbria Adoption service manager Ruth McHugh welcomed Ellie Simmonds’ call, saying that nationally children with disabilities spend an additional nine months in care waiting for an adoptive family, compared to children without disabilities.
“Ellie’s speech - and her award-winning documentary - was inspirational and timely. We always need more adopters who are open to adopting children with disabilities or additional needs, as well as older children and brothers and sisters to be adopted together.
“Adopting children with disabilities can be challenging of course but is also especially rewarding and Cumbria Adoption provides a whole range of support to adopters, whether you have experience of children with disabilities within your family or work, or want to welcome a child with disabilities into your family for the first time.”
Cumbria Adoption works on behalf of Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council. There are currently 29 Cumbrian children with a plan of adoption. Three children have a diagnosed disability, but a number of other children have complex needs which are not yet diagnosed as a disability, said Ruth McHugh.
To find out more about Cumbria Adoption, visit cumbriaadoption.org.uk. For more information about Cumbria Fostering, visit cumbriafostering.org.uk.