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.

Displaying 221 - 230 of 462

Browse Other Topics

The attitudes of medical professionals toward children and children at risk of separation from parents in Eastern Europe

Katherine H. Shelton, Geoffrey Haddock, Heather Ottaway - Children and Youth Services Review, 07 Feb 2018

This article reports the findings of a multi-country study of medical professionals' perceptions and evaluations of children in three Eastern European countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova).

View Article

Disability Inclusion in Psychosocial Support Programs in Lebanon: Guidance for psychosocial support facilitators

Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) and UNICEF Lebanon , 01 Feb 2018

This resource is designed to support PSS Facilitators to strengthen inclusion of children and adolescents with disabilities in a range of PSS activities, including community based and focused activities.

From the day they are born: a qualitative study exploring violence against children with disabilities in West Africa

Janet Njelesani, Goli Hashemi, Cathy Cameron, Deb Cameron, Danielle Richard and Penny Parnes - BMC Public Health, 17 Jan 2018

This study explores violence experienced by children with disabilities based on data collected from four countries in West Africa- Guinea, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

The Risk and Prevention of Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities

Child Welfare Information Gateway, 02 Jan 2018

Children with disabilities are at least three times more likely to be abused or neglected than their peers without disabilities, and they are more likely to be seriously injured or harmed by maltreatment. This bulletin describes the scope of the problem, risk factors, and strategies for prevention.

Enhancing Alternative Care Opportunities for Children with Disabilities in the Kingdom of Cambodia

ISS Australia, UNICEF, ISS, 2018

This report presents a needs assessment which provides a summary of the situation of children with disabilities who are living in residential care institutions and in communities in Cambodia and proposes seven key recommendations and relevant concrete actions for the short, medium and long term to improve the quality of care of children with disabilities living in institutions and to ensure that they have better access to basic services and are living in a protective environment.

UK Department for International Development Commitments for the Global Disability Summit 2018 Submission Form

UK Department for International Development (DFID) , 2018

In this form, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) outlines its commitments for the Global Disability Summit 2018, including its new policy position on children and young people with disabilities in institutions.

Uganda Functional Difficulties Survey (UFDS) 2017

Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2018

The sections in this report provide an analysis of Uganda’s disability policy and legislative framework and how it is implemented, and emphasizes the need for sound research for development, including statistics.

Children Without Parental Care: Protection, Safeguards and Best Practices

Jagannath Pati, 2018

This volume is an effort to highlight best practices for children without parental care.

View Book

DOVCU Learning Brief 2: The effect of DOVCU’s integrated package of services on reintegrating children and families

ChildFund International, 2018

This learning brief analyzes quantitative data from the second of the “Deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Uganda” (DOVCU) project’s stated objectives: examining the extent to which DOVCU project interventions decrease vulnerabilities for reintegrating children and their families.

We All Matter! Situation Analysis of Children with Disabilities in Albania

Joanna Rogers and Elayn M. Sammon - UNICEF, 2018

The purpose of the present Situation Analysis of Children with Disabilities in Albania is to generate comprehensive knowledge about children with disabilities to inform concrete actions by the Albanian government and UNICEF Albania to address the most critical rights violations of children with disabilities.