Childhood should be an exciting, joyful time to learn and grow. The 5% of school-age children who have disabilities due to sickness, injury, genetics, or other factors are no exception, but the world has difficulties properly accommodating them. Sometimes, these kids need a lot of support both at school and at home.
It’s important to remember that disability is a normal part of life and should be treated with the same patience as we use to brush our teeth every day, or eat nutritious meals.
It’s pretty disingenuous to talk about “disability” like it’s a catchall. there are many different conditions we all deal with that affect our lives at different levels. Some might find it easier to categorize it like this:
- The child has no behavior problems, needs only limited care and supervision (this level of care is the baseline of what ALL children are expected to receive)
- The child needs more involved care, supervision, and training, but the child has some self-care skills and has no major behavioral problems
- The child needs consistent, reliable care, supervision, and training to develop self-care skills, motor skills, or social skills
- The child needs constant intense care, supervision, and professionally supervised training for their safety, health, and development of one or more skills (physical, social, etc.)
Accessibility is a problem for many sick or disabled children, and this is more than just for physically disabled children (which is also important and often not as thorough as should be). Communication is complicated, and any slight difficulty or quirk of the brain can render understanding and returning communication near impossible if the child’s environment can’t adapt to their needs.
Home care can be provided for severe disabilities, as parents understandably may not be prepared or skilled enough to provide such care. It takes a village to raise a child, so they say, so medical and therapeutic caregivers naturally stand alongside teachers, friends, and neighbors in any village.
