Supporting Children with Disabilities

Supporting children with disabilities is an urgent call to action. It reaffirms the notion that every child, regardless of their race, socioeconomic status, religion, educational achievement, or disability, has the right to live in an inclusive world. Currently, we cannot discuss the global population without acknowledging that fifteen per cent of the world’s population is affected by some form of disability. This equates to at least one billion people, with almost 240 million being children. This staggering figure demands immediate attention to the plight of children with disabilities and the necessity to support them as they navigate their challenging and demanding lives.

According to the United Nations, disability is defined as being a victim of a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment that hinders one’s participation in society on an equal basis with others, especially in their interaction with the environment. From the above definition, disability is not limited to children or a space; both children and adults can experience disability in every country or community, which makes disability part and parcel of our everyday life and experience. It may affect us in many ways, such as thinking, communicating, walking, seeing, caring for oneself or making friends.

Despite these challenges, it is our duty to ensure that those with disabilities are provided with an environment conducive to living a decent life and achieving their potential. Being disabled does not equate to a lack of potential. Everyone, including those with disabilities, has much to contribute to society. The more we encourage them to harness their potential, the better the result. If we give disabled individuals the impression that their disability is a huge impediment that limits their potential, we are potentially killing their dreams and their abilities. However, suppose we treat those disabilities as any other obstacles in life, which must not determine who we are. In that case, we encourage our disabled children to believe that their disability is not a permanent limitation. More than that, we must accommodate those with disabilities and encourage them to know that they are not different from any other person. Every child, irrespective of their physical, mental, or social state, has something to offer to society. Hence, children with disabilities should be able to function, participate in society, and have the right to live and thrive in a society where they can harness their potential.

That calls for accommodation and the lack of discrimination against children with disabilities. Sadly, that does not reflect the realities in our various societies. Children with disabilities face numerous forms of discrimination based on cultural, religious, and social grounds. These discriminations and marginalisation seriously create barriers and limit their ability to function in their everyday lives, access social services (such as education and healthcare), and engage in their communities, where they can contribute to society as well as improve their own lives.

It starts with negative perceptions of disability, often rooted in stigma and beliefs, norms and practices that devalue people with disabilities. The attitudinal perception leads to stigmatisation and discrimination, which effectively create barriers in the lives of people with disabilities. Attitudinal barriers such as stereotyping, disrespect, harassment, pity, low expectations, condescension and bullying all make the lives of children with disabilities terribly difficult.

Those barriers include physical barriers with limited wheelchair access to buildings, toilets, transportation and playgrounds.

Another area where children face significant challenges in various societies is in accessing communication and information. Ours is a society where textbooks, including academic materials, are often available for those without disability; The unavailability of books in Braille means those with disability are left to their fate. That is not all; public announcements and communication often overlook those with disabilities and impairments, thereby disregarding essential elements like sign language interpretation.

In the face of all the challenges, children with disabilities, especially girls and children from poor backgrounds, blacks and other minorities, including ethnic minorities, migrant communities or other marginalised groups face double jeopardy. They are not only discriminated against due to their disabilities, but they also face numerous challenges and hurdles based on their race, ethnicity, social hierarchy and economic conditions. All these factors make their lives incredibly hard and form enormous impediments to fulfilling their needs and exercising their rights as members of society.

It is high time we changed our attitude and treatment towards disability. It is in line with the urgency to address the human rights violations experienced by people with disabilities worldwide and to respect, accommodate and treat the disabilities with more dignity and rights that the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2006. The CRPD aims to raise awareness of the need to address the challenges faced by people with disabilities and to encourage Governments to take concrete measures to integrate them into society, as well as to help them achieve their fundamental human rights and freedoms, just like other citizens.

Sadly, the saying, easier said than done seems the best description of the present social reality, as it reflects the situation of children with disabilities. Children with disabilities are visibly seen everywhere on the street begging for alms; most of them do not have access to school, hospital or other programmes that would have otherwise made their lives better and easier. We need to do more. It is not enough to preach about equal rights for children with disability, but we must follow it up with concrete actions. We all must be involved. Today, you and I might be disability free, but life can drastically change tomorrow. We must not wait till we have a bad experience before we realise that all humans are born equal and with equal rights and dignity. Until we change this mindset and start putting ourselves in the shoes of disabled people, we will continue making life miserable for people with disabilities, which should not be the case.

We live because others live; when we treat the lives of others with dignity, we indirectly dignify our own. When we create a conducive situation to make the lives of children with disabilities better, we are willingly confronting barriers to change our society, which is suitable for a more equitable, inclusive culture. Let us put our hands and heads together to support children with disabilities.