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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Global Report on Children with Developmental Disabilities

UN,, 15 Sep 2023

This WHO-UNICEF Global Report on children with developmental disabilities provides principles and approaches to intentionally include the needs and aspirations of children and young people with developmental disabilities in policy, programming and public health monitoring.

A Portrait of the Rights of Children With Disabilities in Nigeria: A Policy Review

Rose Uzoma Elekanachi, Keiko Shikako, Laurie Snider, Noemi Dahan-Oliel, 10 Aug 2023

This study examined the extent to which Nigeria’s current disability and childhood policies have integrated the CRC and the CRPD frameworks. Using a structured search of databases and Nigerian federal and state government websites, we conducted a policy review to identify their disability and child-related disability policies.

Children with Disabilities in Eastern and Southern Africa: A statistical overview of their well-being

UNICEF, 21 Jul 2023

This UNICEF report aims to promote the use of data to make children with disabilities in the region more visible, bringing about a fuller understanding of their life experiences. It offers evidence crucial to decision-making to fulfill obligations, both moral and legal, to give every child an equal chance in life.

Parents with Disability and their Experiences of Child Protection Systems

Terri Libesman, Paul Gray, Eloise Chandler, Linda Briskman, Aminath Didi, Scott Avery, 01 Jul 2023

This research sought to improve understanding of the experiences of parents with disability of Australian child protection systems, paying particular attention to the experiences of First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse parents with disability.

Disability Inclusivity in Rwanda | Beyond Closing Orphanages

Hope and Homes for Children, 12 Jun 2023

The Hope for Homes team in Rwanda helps communities become more inclusive for children with disabilities.

Families Find a Way: Children with Disabilities in War-Torn Ukraine

Disability Rights International, Disability Rights Ukraine, 08 Jun 2023

DRI asked more than 500 families living in Ukraine what they are now experiencing during the war and what they need. In interviews with DRI staff, parents lay out all the difficult challenges and barriers they face. These interviews provide a blueprint of the change that must occur – by governments, donors, policymakers, caregivers, and communities during the war and recovery process.

Bridges between Families and Foster Children: Family Reintegration and Adoption of Disabled Children and Adolescents

Patrícia da Silva Bezerra, Yuri Leandro do Carmo de Souza, Matheus dos Santos da Silveira, Edmylla Francyelle dos Santos Silva, Simone Souza da Costa Silva, 15 May 2023

This study aimed to describe the perception of caregivers and the role of professionals in the process of family reintegration and adoption of children and adolescents with disabilities in a host institution in Belém/PA, Brazil.

Disability Measurement in Residential Care Facilities in Kenya and its Role within Case Management

Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC), 11 May 2023

Though research has been conducted on children with disabilities and on children in residential care settings, the intersections of these two topics has yet to be explored in depth. Notably, there is a lack of information surrounding disability measurement within residential care settings, highlighting a gap in the literature. It is estimated that a child with a disability is 17 times more likely to be placed in an institutionalized care setting than a child without a disability, and girls are more likely to be placed in an institution than boys. This report details research conducted in Kenya.

Reconocidos, Contabilizados, Incluidos: Utilizar los Datos para Arrojar Luz Sobre el Bienestar de los Niños y Las Niñas Con Discapacidad - Resumen

UNICEF, 01 Feb 2023

El informe tiene como objetivo promover el uso de estos datos con el propósito de dar más protagonismo a los niños y niñas con discapacidad y de ese modo lograr una conciencia más plena de sus vivencias.

Seen, Counted, Included: Using Data to Shed Light on the Well-being of Children with Disabilities - Executive Summary

UNICEF, 01 Feb 2023

The report’s objective is to promote the use of these data to make children with disabilities more visible, bringing about a fuller understanding of their life experiences.