A Community-Based Approach to Providing Health and Education Supports for Students with Disabilities in Affordable Housing

Abstract

Children with disabilities are likely to have unmet health needs, including access to quality health care, and many face significant challenges related to poor housing conditions. Studies find significant negative correlations between neighborhood disadvantage and health and education outcomes for students with disabilities (SWDs). SWDs are overrepresented in public housing communities and represent an especially at-risk and understudied segment of the population. This chapter examined the use of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework as a means by which to improve both health and educational outcomes for SWD living in a public housing community. Families reported that 27% of the children in this community have a disability, so attention to providing a holistic set of interventions to support families of SWD in this community is essential.