Children with Disabilities - Health Education Information and Support
This section of Disabled World covers a range of specific childhood disabilities and disorders including information about disability in infants, toddlers, children, and youths.
We also provide links to disability specific sites and support groups for both children and parents of children, or a child, with a disability.
The Disabled World mission in Child Disability is to:
- Provide families of children with a disability information concerning their rights and entitlements to services and support.
- Advocate on behalf of children with a disability and families to ensure the best possible support and services are available from the community and World Governments.
- Educate public policy-makers and the general community about needs of children with a disability.
- Provide information and resources to schools and the education sector in regards to Childhood Disability and a child's unique issues.
Parents are often worried when their child experiences learning problems in school. There are many different reasons for learning difficulties, but a common one may involve a specific learning disability. Learning disabilities affect at least 1 in 10 school children today.
Evaluation is an essential beginning step in the special education process for a child with a disability. In the United States the evaluation process is guided by requirements in special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
IDEA's Definition of a "Child with a Disability"
IDEA lists different disability categories under which a child may be found eligible for special education and related services.
These categories are:
- Autism
- Deafness
- Deaf-blindness
- Mental retardation
- Multiple disabilities
- Hearing impairment
- Developmental delay
- Traumatic brain injury
- Emotional disturbance
- Orthopedic impairment
- Other health impairment
- Specific learning disability
- Speech or language impairment
- Visual impairment, including blindness
Parents with a child, or children, with a disability often have more stress placed on their relationship than parents of typically developing children. However, it has also been shown that having a child with a disability can also bring a couple closer together. The main key(s) to keeping your marriage or relationship strong are open communication and spending a great deal of time together.
Further information - Disability Education - Special Education - Childrens Health Concerns
Articles
- Amazing Teens - This short documentary video clip follows three amazing teens with special talents despite having disabilities.
- Benefits For Children With Disabilities - Booklet for parents, caregivers or representatives of children younger than age 18 who have disabilities that might make them eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. It is also for adults who became disabled in childhood and who might be entitled to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
- SSI Child Disability Starter Kit - Fact sheet answers questions about applying for SSI child disability benefits, including the definition of disability for children under age 18, information about the SSI program, and other important information about state and local medical assistance.
- Disability - An umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives - World Health Organization
