WYCOMBE MP Paul Goodman has launched a nationwide survey to find out what disabled people want.

What I find hopeful is that Conservatives are asking people to tell them about practical things that will make a difference.

The last thing disabled people want are statements about how they need to "achieve their full potential". They want things that can be done, done.

Speaking as the mother, for 25 years, of a daughter disabled with epilepsy, I have a few points.

Teachers are vital.

They should learn about disabilities during training, so that the prospect of having disabled children in their classes inspires rather than frightens them.

Disabled children are just as interested in pop culture as anyone else and want friends who share their interests, not their problems. So teachers should actively help able-bodied youngsters to be friends with disabled children.

They should also actively look out for bullying .

Disabled people need physical relationships, same as the rest of us.

And here is a practical point. Many children with epilepsy have to wear helmets, which are necessary but could never be described as fashionable.

My daughter had a red one made for her while she was in a special school. It wasn't too bad, but it got a bit dilapidated and she was fitted for another by the NHS.

It was huge and black and quite, quite horrible. We never took it home and she continued with the red one.

Could someone please design a helmet that preserves its wearer's dignity as well as their head?

Another instance of just not thinking about disabled people's needs is highlighted by a colleague whose elderly mother-in-law is in rehab where her mobility problems are being assessed. You'd have to be a chimpanzee, never mind fully mobile, to reach the toilet roll dispenser in the disabled loo.

It doesn't take pots of money or focus groups for that matter, but just a little bit of thought, to make life easier for those whose problems make the carrying out of everyday tasks that little bit more difficult.