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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COVID-19: Considerations for Children and Adults with Disabilities

UNICEF, 2020

UNICEF has produced a guidance note on considerations for children and adults with disabilities in the COVID-19 response.

Excluded from the Excluded: People with Intellectual Disabilities in (and out of) Official Development Assistance

Inclusion International, 2020

This report analyzes data available through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC)’s Creditor Reporting System (CRS), which reveals that many mainstream development projects fail to include people with intellectual disabilities, including children. The report includes guidance for ensuring CRPD-compliant project funding, including examples of community living projects that align with the CRPD, such as supporting the transition of people with disabilities from institutions to independent living and providing training for families on supporting their children with disabilities at home.

Disability considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak

World Health Organization (WHO), 2020

This briefing from the World Health Organization (WHO) outlines actions for meeting the needs of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID 19 and the disability movement

International Disability Alliance (IDA), 2020

In the light of the COVID19 pandemic and with the aim to support a disability-inclusive response to the crisis, International Disability Alliance (IDA) has launched this webpage to share the most recent updates and resources as they become available.

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Global Education Monitoring Report 2020 - Inclusion and Education: All Means All

UNESCO, 2020

The 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report recognizes the contexts and challenges facing countries in providing inclusive education; the groups at risk of being excluded from education and the barriers individual learners face, especially when various characteristics intersect; and the fact that exclusion can be physical, social (in interpersonal and group relations), psychological and systemic.

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Report on the Transition from Institutional Care to Community-Based Services in 27 EU Member States

Jan Šiška and Julie Beadle-Brown - European Expert Group on Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care, 2020

The aim of this report was to collate information about policies and plans, changes over time, strengths and areas of concerns relevant to advancement in deinstitutionalisation in 27 EU countries and for six target groups: adults with disabilities, adults with mental health problems, children (including children with disabilities), unaccompanied or separated migrant children, homeless persons and older adults.

COVID 19 and the disability movement

International Disability Alliance (IDA), 2020

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Protecting children and adolescents with disabilities from the pandemic

UNICEF Europe and Central Asia, 2020

This post from the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia website describes how UNICEF is mobilizing to protect marginalized and vulnerable children – including those with disabilities – against the impact of COVID 19 in the region.

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Impacts of Positive Parenting Intervention on Stress Management of Mothers Having Children with Intellectual Disability in Birhan Lehetsanat Rehabilitation Center, Addis Ababa

Tadele Zebrea, Belay Tefera, and Bhatara Mohit - European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 2020

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Positive Parenting Program (Triple-P) in enabling mothers to manage stress related to parenting a child with intellectual disability (ID).

Transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities who experienced foster care: An ecological approach

Robin Marie Harwick, Deanne Unruh, Lauren Lindstrom - Child Abuse & Neglect, 12 Dec 2019

The purpose of the study was to uncover challenges during the transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities who experienced foster care and elucidate the supports most beneficial in addressing these challenges.

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