The right to rehabilitation & assistive technology: A must for Children with Disabilities

Elaf*, 17, plays the keyboard while her sister Malak*, 12, watches, North East Syria. Muhannad Khaled / Save the Children

There are nearly 240 million children with disabilities in the world. These children are 20 per cent less likely to have expectations of a better life compared to children without disabilities. [1]

In 2016, it was estimated that globally 52.9 million children younger than five years old experienced a developmental disability, such as sensory impairment, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorders, and 95% of them lived low-middle income countries.[2]

To change this, children with disabilities must be supported through early intervention and their rights to rehabilitation and assistive technologies must become a reality.

The right to rehabilitation is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ Article 26 on Habilitation and rehabilitation which states that:

“States Parties shall (…) enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life.” This should “Begin at the earliest possible stage, and are based on the multidisciplinary assessment of individual needs and strengths;” and include the promotion of “the availability, knowledge and use of assistive devices and technologies, designed for persons with disabilities, as they relate to habilitation and rehabilitation.”

Rehabilitation means a set of interventions designed to optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interactions with their environment. A person with an impairment has the right to rehabilitation as well as the right to decline rehabilitation if that is their choice.

Assistive technologies (AT) is the application of organized knowledge and skills related to assistive products, including systems and services. Assistive products are divided into six domains; Mobility, Vision, Cognition, Communication, Hearing, Environment.

Rehabilitation and AT are part of Universal Health Coverage. When it comes to children, it is specifically important to address the right to rehabilitation and assistive technologies as part of early intervention programmes. These programmes identify and address the needs of individual children during the prenatal period until they turn eight years old.

There are many different types of assistive products that can help children focus and thrive. Each child's needs are slightly different – therefore all communities need to have  access to a range of quality AT that is locally available, appropriate for the specific users, and suitable for use in the environments in which they will use them. Every child, their family, teachers and all other people close to the child must also be supported to maintain the assistive product.

Here are three ways in which Save the Children has supported children with disabilities to enjoy their right to rehabilitation and AT in our programmes:

LINKING CHILDREN TO SERVICES IN RURAL COLOMBIA

As part of Save the Children Colombia’s project on positive parenting, we have identified children with disabilities in rural communities of Nariño, a department in Colombia that continues to be heavily affected by armed conflict. Children, adolescents and their families in these communities are at risk of forced displacement, forced confinement, recruitment and use by illegal armed groups and access to essential and basic services is limited including healthcare and medical diagnosis for children with disabilities.

Save the Children staff, through child protection activities and house-to-house visits, help identify children with disabilities and cover their initial medical consultations. 

After having their consultations and getting their measurements taken, children are provided with assistive products such as wheelchairs, walking frames or mattresses. Then, children and caregivers are supported to understand how each product works and how to comfortably use them together with receiving guidance on how to maintain them.