Meeting the needs of special children

A friend told me recently: "When we got the diagnosis we felt like they had put a gun to our face." His daughter had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a milder form of autism characterized by behavioral problems, including difficulties in social interaction. My friend's reaction to the diagnosis reminded me of similar reactions from other parents whose children have some type of physical or mental disability.

Between 500 and 600 million people worldwide live with a disability. According to World Health Organization statistics, about 10 percent of the children and youth in the world (about 200 million) have a disability. Of these, about 80 percent live in developing countries, although the numbers vary widely across countries. Latin America has about 50 million people with disabilities, of whom 90 percent are unemployed and 82 percent live in poverty.

There are many causes of disabilities in children. They include genetic factors, conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, conditions affecting newborns as well as other postnatal causes such as injuries, and chronic and infectious diseases. Also among the causes are wars.