Children with Disabilities

the needs of all children. In an inclusive school,
students are taught in small classes in which
they collaborate and support one another rather
than compete. Children with disabilities are not
segregated in the classroom, at lunchtime or on
the playground.
Studies across countries show a strong link
between poverty and disability 64 – one that is in
turn linked to gender, health and employment
issues. Children with disabilities are often caught
in a cycle of poverty and exclusion: Girls become
caregivers to their siblings rather than attend
school, for example, or the whole family may be
stigmatized, leading to their reluctance to report
that a child has a disability or to take the child
out in public. 65 The education of those who are
excluded or marginalized, however, brings about
poverty reduction. 66
Inclusive approaches to education have received
numerous global endorsements, including at
the 1994 World Conference on Special Needs
Education67 and, since 2002, through the global
Education for All initiative on the right to education
for persons with disabilities. 68 These
approaches are by no means luxuries available
only to the privileged or in high-income countries.
Examples of inclusion in education are to
be found in all regions of the world. To optimize
the potential to include the excluded, all such
efforts should apply the principles of universal
design to learning systems and environments.
An example of this is provided by the infographic
published online at .
Starting early
The first steps towards inclusion are taken at
home during the early years. If children with disabilities
do not receive the love, sensory stimulation,
health care and social inclusion to which
they are entitled, they can miss important developmental
milestones and their potential may be
unfairly limited, with significant social and economic
implications for themselves, their families
and the communities in which they live.
Ashiraff plays with friends at school in Togo after a
local disabled people’s organization and international
partners helped to realize his right to education.
© UNICEF/Togo/2012/Brisno
A child whose disability or developmental delay
is identified at an early stage will have a much
better chance of reaching her or his full capacity.
Early childhood education, whether it is public,
private or provided by the community, should
be designed to respond to the child’s individual
needs. Early childhood is important precisely
because approximately 80 per cent of the brain’s
capacity develops before the age of 3 and
because the period between birth and primary
school provides opportunities to tailor developmental
education to the child’s needs. Studies
suggest that the children who are at greatest
disadvantage stand to benefit the most. 69
Early childhood education is not limited to preschools
and other childcare facilities – the home
environment plays a fundamental role in stimulating
and facilitating the development of the
child. Studies from Bangladesh, 70 China, 71 India72 and South Africa73 have shown that enhanced
interaction between mother and child and
increased developmental activities benefit cognitive
development in young children across a
variety of settings, from home to health centre. 74
(continued on p. 32)
A STRONG FOUNDATION
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