Children With Special Needs And Their Families

Some children have unique and special needs due to a specific situation or condition that affects them. Therefore, they require special care and attention. In some cases, these special needs have to do with their health. However, children with special needs also include children with learning difficulties, children who have gone through a trauma, those with developmental delays, etc.

Which children need special adaptations?

All children who present a specific condition have the right to receive special adaptations. In addition, the variation between and within groups with special needs is really great.

For example, the term refers to children with learning difficulties and those who need special education. But it also refers to children who need special care when it comes to their health, e.g.  children born with a cognitive condition, a syndrome or a chronic or terminal illness.

According to Eliane Tatsh, Ivone Evangelista and Andressa da Silveira, these children require constant care – whether the condition is temporary or permanent. In addition, they are dependent on several social services and healthcare.

Recommendations for support for families

The American psychologist Nicholas Martin interviewed support groups composed of families with children with special needs. He asked these parents what the best resources were, at a reasonable cost, for the care of their children.

Below are the recommendations that are most notable:

• Parents’ associations. Search for information and find existing associations and support networks in your area that offer help.

• Relief of a contact family. It is the municipality’s social service that can offer this type of service for families who need short rest periods.
• Specialized daycare centers that are qualified to care for children who need special care.

Special education for children with special needs

The first time the concept of students with special educational needs was defined was in the Warnock report. This report, prepared by the British Commission on Education, points out that these students are experiencing difficulties in learning. Therefore, they require special training resources to meet these needs.

That being said, the concept has to do with the distinctive skills that students who need special education have. These may be worse or better than the majority of the group.

But as psychologists Mónica Montes and María Auxilio Castro explain, students’ education is based on their abilities and possibilities. In other words, special education does not focus on a child’s limitations.

According to Montes and Castro, the concept helps students with special needs to reconsider students with difficulties. Therefore, the intervention that takes place with these students focuses on their learning competence, not on their disability.

Children with special needs and bullying

According to the World Health Organization, children with special needs are often victims of bullying. In fact, the WHO says that children with disabilities are four times more likely to be victims of violence than those who are not disabled. These children are among the groups most affected by bullying. And according to the WHO, the most common risk factors are:

• Social stigma
• Discrimination
• Ignorance regarding disability
• Lack of support for caregivers

Finally, it is a fact that children in need of special care face major challenges, as do their families and caregivers. Therefore, they should receive the necessary support to help them in their daily lives. Their support system should facilitate the development of these children to their maximum potential and give them a better quality of life.