Prevention of Abandonment of Children with Special Needs Through Community-Based Programmes and Intervention

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 in India are various legal protections enacted at the global and national levels to protect the rights of the differently abled. India is a country with 2.21% of its population accounted as differently abled as per 2011 Census of India. The lives of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) become miserable when their families cannot afford to or do not like to bear the expense and/or other resources to take care of the differently abled and therefore, send them to residential institutions. This aggravates the vulnerabilities of PwDs, as they are unable to communicate and respond to abuse, discrimination, and violence against them. Satya Special School, Puducherry has initiated interventions for Children with Special Needs (CWSN), their parents and caretakers, bureaucrats, and health workers to promote “An inclusive society where integrated and holistic rehabilitation system prevails to improve their lives, dignity, socio-cultural, and economic status of children/persons with disability.” Satya provides basic literacy and numeracy skills, vocational skills to CWSN, and provides therapeutic and rehabilitative services, occupational therapy, and behaviour modification for children. These interventions have promoted inclusive education, livelihood options, recognition to CWSN/PwD, and they have started challenging their disability.