Disability can happen to anyone. It doesn’t depend on the status of any person and it can impact an individual both mentally and financially.
When we talk of Disability what comes to your mind… what is the first thing or picture that comes to your mind?
The birth of a child with disability in a family is said to be a shock to the parents and to the family, and poses many challenges for them. The special education needs child as well as his/her family experiences trauma, grief, guilt, aggression, rejection, stress and strain, and even inclination towards murder and suicide (Obi, 1998).
Grieving is an ongoing features of raising a child with disability. For example, parents could grieve over the child’s lack of achievement of developmental academic and social matters, and ongoing stigmatization. Parents are likely to also grieve for themselves and the lost opportunities for personal growth and achievement as every aspect of their life may be threatened and changed. They are more likely to be socially isolated as friendships change, and extended family can withdraw in response to the child’s disability.
Constant psychological stress, misunderstanding within the family, economic burdens, grief and strain were significant factors associated with families of children with disabilities.
As individuals, knowing the stress, depression and trauma parents of persons with disability pass through, what should come to your mind?… most times these individuals are discriminated while few have gained interventions to become better and accepted in the society at large. It is one thing to know that they did not plan to have the disability they face.
When addressing them, emphasize the individual not the disability. Rather than using terms such as disabled person, handicapped people, a crippled person, use terms such as people with disability, a person with a disability, or a person with visual impairment.
Therefore, Let us join hands and advocate for persons with disability including their families, give them reasons to live again because there is ability in every disability…
DON’T DISCRIMINATE ANY DISABILITY.