Globally an estimated 95 million children aged 0-14 years
have a disability - 0.7%, 13 million of
whom have a severe disability, according to the World
Report on Disabilities 2011.
The athletes at the London, 2012 Paralympics provide
positive examples for children living with a disability which is defined as ‘an
umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions’
in the report. These athletes also remind us of what can be achieved when the
right support is given to those who need it.
Disability is something that almost everyone will experience
at some point in their life, either temporarily or permanently. It is complex and
refers to not only the impairment experienced by the individual but the
negative aspects of interaction between individuals with health conditions,
such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, depression, and personal and
environmental factors such as negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation
and public buildings, and limited social supports.
These negative aspects affect children in different ways, most
commonly in their access to education. Data
shows that education gaps exist in both low and high income countries
between disabled and non disabled children. These gaps range from 10% in India
to 60% in Indonesia in terms of the difference between the percentage of
disabled children and the percentage of non-disabled children attending primary
school.
Additionally children with intellectual or sensory
impairments commonly fare worse than those with physical impairments, despite
the knowledge that the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream
schools not only promotes universal primary completion but it is cost-effective
and helps to reduce discrimination.
They are invisible
The World Report on Disability states that after reviewing
28 countries participating in the Education
for All Fast Track Initiative Partnership, 18 countries either omitted any
reference to disability or inclusion or, put forward minimal detail regarding
strategies for the education of disabled children.
This invisibility in addition to a lack of finance, social
protection and support services for children and their families are common
throughout the world and have resulted in children with disabilities being less
likely to start school than those without disabilities, and having lower rates
of retention and advancement in schools.
They are invincible!
Paralympic athletes such as the Australian swimmer Ahmed Kelly who is
currently competing in the 2012 Paralympic Games, in fact provide good examples
for children and adults worldwide – both disabled or not – of what the words
courage, determination and skill really mean. Born in Iraq with double arm and
leg deficiencies, Ahmed was adopted by an Australian woman and after playing
Australian Rules Football for a number of years (without prosthetic arms) he
decided to devote himself to swimming which has now taken him to the highest
possible level of competition.
Individuals like Ahmed do appear to be invincible and their
achievements should be made increasingly visible to further help address
discrimination and common misconceptions about people living with disability.
Hannah Chadwick
Wikichild Coordinator
Further reading:
See also and contribute
to the Wikigender article on “Women and
Disability”.
No comments:
Post a Comment