Children with Disabilities

A disability includes a physical impairment such as mobility, hearing, visual, and language difficulties, and developmental delays which affect a person’s behaviour, emotional expression, and learning abilities. It includes mild to severe disabilities, from cerebral palsy, paralysis and amputation, to blindness, deafness, autism, and dyslexia. Children may be born with an impairment, or develop one as a result of disease, abuse, or an injury, e.g. many children are the victims of shootings, bombings, and explosions in conflict affected areas.

The degree of disability a person experiences is frequently related to society’s adaptation to meet the needs of people with varying abilities. This is known as the social model of disability which highlights the role of the environment in reducing or increasing the ability of individuals to participate equally in everyday life. For example, a person in a wheelchair has the impairment of not being able to walk. The disability, however, may be that he cannot take up services due to a lack of building access. Protection workers must consider any additional needs or risk factors a person may have as a result of his impairment and disability. Children in developing countries are more vulnerable to disability since poverty and conflicts increase the incidence of impairments, and reduce the provision of necessary health, education, social services, and adaptive provisions to help include children of all abilities.

Children with impairments or special needs are highly vulnerable to discrimination, abandonment, abuse, exploitation, injury and death, since they are more reliant on the cooperation and support of others to meet their basic needs, and may be less able to express their wishes. In some cultures, children with special needs are actively excluded from participating in society since they may be viewed as a source of shame, or unworthy of care and protection.

Government policies should seek to reduce the incidence of injuries and diseases via adequate health care, including education, immunizations, nutrition, and sanitation. All programming and policies for children should promote the social inclusion of children with disabilities at every level. Children should benefit from the reduction of physical and social barriers, adaptation of services and/or rehabilitation assistance in order to enable them to participate as fully as possible in their communities. This includes family support, health facilities, access to education, and respite services to enable children to fulfill their potential. Children of all abilities must be empowered to express their views and to influence their own lives.

The resources in this section focus on children with disabilities in developing countries, and those affected by conflict. They highlight their vulnerability to exclusion and abuse, and provide examples of projects to address the needs of children with special needs.

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Georgi

Hope and Homes for Children, 2021

This video tells the story of Georgi, a boy born with Down's Syndrome in Bulgaria whose parents were told they wouldn't be able to care for him and were encouraged to place him in an orphanage. They placed him in an orphanage and were later supported by Hope and Homes for Children to have him returned to their care.

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The Closure of an Institution for Children and Adults with Disabilities: Good Practice Guide

Hope and Homes for Children, 2021

This document outlines 5 key steps that serve as an effective blueprint for a successful reintegration process of children and disabilities. These include ‘engagement’, ‘Assessment’, ‘Design & Development’, ‘Transition’, and ‘Monitoring & Evaluation’.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Study on Children with Disabilities Living in Families and Institutions in Rwanda

Hope and Homes for Children, Republic of Rwanda, University of Rwanda, 2021

This study is part of the response to the global call for the provision of quality alternative family-based care and prevention of family separation for children with disabilities. The study is premised on the view that the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the attributes assigned to, and the conceptualization of, children with disabilities in their families and communities, vis-à-vis institutional care for children with disabilities, are also crucial determinants of barriers/ enablers of full and meaningful integration of children with disabilities into community life in Rwanda.

Webinar Recording: Nurturing Care For Children With Developmental Delays And Disabilities

Aga Khan Foundation, ECDAN, The Lego Foundation, UNICEF, 09 Dec 2020

This webinar highlighted how children with developmental delays and disabilities can have the best chance to not only survive, but also thrive. The webinar delved into the challenges, emerging research from Kenya, and practical country examples from Mozambique, Tajikistan and Peru.

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Webinar Recording: Children with Disabilities in Adversity - Institutions and Protection of Family Life in COVID19 pandemic and sustainable development

Disability Rights International, Validity Foundation, European Network for Independent Living, 04 Dec 2020

Disability Rights International, Validity Foundation, and the European Network for Independent Living, Youth Network Board hosted a webinar on children with disabilities in adversity as part of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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Parent and family leadership in preventing institutionalization of children with disabilities: Promising practices from countries in transition- COSP13 Side Event

Keystone Human Services, Inclusion International, SPOON, International Social Service - Burkina Faso, Shonaquip - South Africa, Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs - Vietnam, Auto-reprezentanți - Moldova, International Disability Alliance, 04 Dec 2020

By drawing on the experiences of parents, advocates, NGOs, and public officials, this side event invited discussion on how, through strengthening families and tools for prevention, societies can reduce the number of children being institutionalized. During the event, a panel of experts from the Republic of Moldova, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, and the United States explored their experiences around efforts to empower parents and keep children with disabilities with their families.

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Meeting families where they are: Text‐based support in parent to parent programs

Robin L. Dodds - Child: Care, Health and Development, 01 Dec 2020

This paper reports on the results of an online survey of P2P stakeholders regarding: How text‐based support is being used in P2P programs and whether text‐based support is perceived as providing benefits to parents of children with disabilities.

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The exposure of children with and without disabilities to violent parental discipline: Cross-sectional surveys in 17 middle- and low-income countries

Eric Emerson and Gwynnyth Llewellyn - Child Abuse & Neglect, 04 Nov 2020

The aim of this study was to estimate prevalence rates and adjusted rate ratios of exposure to violent parental discipline among children with and without disabilities in middle- and low-income countries.

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Crimes Against Humanity: Decades of Violence and Abuse in Mexican Institutions for Children and Adults with Disabilities

Laurie Ahern, Lisbet Brizuela, Ivonne Millán, Priscila Rodríguez, Eric Rosenthal - Disability Rights International, 26 Oct 2020

This report documents severe and pervasive human rights violations against children and adults with disabilities in residential facilities in Mexico.

Crímenes de Lesa Humanidad: Décadas de Violencia y Abuso en las instituciones para Niñas, Niños, Adolescentes y Adultos con Discapacidad

Laurie Ahern, Lisbet Brizuela, Ivonne Millán, Priscila Rodríguez, Eric Rosenthal - Disability Rights International, 26 Oct 2020

Este informe documenta violaciones graves y generalizadas a los derechos humanos de niñas, niños adolescentes y adultos con discapacidad en centros residenciales en México.