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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Russia Country Report

N/A, 2003

Country report of Russia on the situation of children in residential care in anticipation of the Second International Conference on Children and Residential Care: New Strategies for a New Millennium, to be held in Stockholm 12 – 15 May 2003.

A Last Resort: A Growing Concern About Children in Residential Care

Andrew Dunn, Elizabeth Jareg, and Douglas Webb, 2003

This paper outlines the International Save the Children Alliance’s position on residential care. It addresses the proliferation of residential care, its negative impact on children and the need for international attention. The paper presents the work of Save the Children and other agencies in order to highlight relevent issues and to provide a guide for those working with separated children.

Children at Risk: Practical Approaches to Addressing Child Protection in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam

Laurence Gray, 2003

Discusses approaches to protecting at-risk children in five Asian countries. Identifies programming and policy measures that effectively address child abuse. Emphasis on committing all levels of society to coordinated practical response.

Street Children: The Core of Child Abuse and Neglect in Nigeria

P.O. Ebigbo, 31 Dec 2002

A research study which explores the overt and covert abuse and neglect experienced by children, especially by those who work and/or live on the streets, in three Nigerian towns. Includes a brief discussion of the African Network on Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) in Nigeria.

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Romania's Abandoned Children Ten Years After the Revolution

U.S. Embassy Bucharest, Romania, 01 Feb 2001

An account of the massive child welfare crisis in Romania which erupted from a movement in Romania during its communist regime to institutionalize thousands of children. This paper also reports the efforts of NGO’s, PVO’s and the international communities to reverse the damage after the fall of communism and also where the efforts need to be directed.

Children and Disability in the Context of Family Breakdown in Central and South Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

Elayn Sammon, 2001

A study on children with disabilities in the context of family breakdown. Includes overviews and statistics from 10 countries, a call for strengthened family support services, and draft guidelines on how child agencies can better mainstream these issues into their work.

Child Landmine Survivors: An Inclusive Approach to Policy and Practice

International Save the Children Alliance: Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Displacement Workgroup, 2000

Guidance on principles and recommendations for work with children and adolescents who survive landmine injuries. Appendices include detailed lists of relevant resources.

Children Without Parents - A Ghanaian Case Study

Nana Apt - Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana, 01 May 1997

This chapter provides an overview of a child care institution, the Osu Children’s Home, in Ghana.

Romania's Orphans: A Legacy of Repression

Human Rights Watch, 01 Dec 1990

Shortly after Nicolar Ceauscu was overthrown on December 22, 1989, the world was exposed for the first time to the shocking images of Romania's orphans, especially its children with disabilities and babies with AIDS.

Torture not Treatment: Electric Shock and Long-Term Restraint in the United States on Children and Adults with Disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center

Mental Disability Rights International,

This report is the product of an investigation by Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) into the human rights abuses of children and young adults with mental disabilities residing at the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) (formerly known as the Behavior Research Institute) in Canton, Massachusetts in the United States. This report is an urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture or other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, by MDRI. The report documents many human rights abuses at JRC, including the intentional infliction of severe pain on children by the use of electric shock and longterm restraint.