Let's Discuss the Horrible Treatment of Children with Disabilities

Let's Discuss the Horrible Treatment of Children with Disabilities

A doctor from Shriners Hospital teaching a young girl how to use her prosthetic. 

“There needs to be a lot more emphasis on what a child can do instead of what he cannot do.” - Dr. Temple Grandin.

Imagine every time you leave the house, you are openly stared at. People shout things at you, others will even grab you. This is what so many children with physical disabilities go through each day. It is just the beginning of a life in which they will be treated like they are less than or something for show. 

There has been a very long history of horrible things happening to these individuals, from having experiments performed on them to being locked in a cell for others to laugh at, time has shown that people can truly be heartless when it comes to someone different from them. Children with disabilities are constantly battling discrimination which is wrong and harmful for their mental health. These issues are also frequently ignored by government officials. 

Children who grow up with disabilities are constantly under a magnifying glass. It often feels like they are expected to fail which can prevent them from achieving their fullest potential. 

According to a study done by The American Psychological Association, “Significant moderate negative implicit stereotyping of both cold and incompetent was found when comparing wheelchair users to nondisabled individuals and wheelchair users playing sports compared to non-disabled individuals. This suggests participants implicitly associated wheelchair users regardless of whether they were depicted playing sport as cold and incompetent, compared to warm and competent for nondisabled individuals.” 

This study showed that regardless of a disabled player’s performance, they are assumed to be less talented than a non-disabled player. This automatic bias is completely unfair but is largely due to people being uneducated. Many people are unaware that people with disabilities can do everything that everyone else can. There have been many developments in technology that can assist the disabled community in many ways, making this bias nothing but damaging. 

I have witnessed first-hand how people treat my cousin who was born with one arm. They are extremely judgmental, and many do not attempt to conceal this. When going out in public we are met with stares and gasps, and I have been told by my Aunt that she has been grabbed by strangers to get a better look. At the age of six, she has become very insecure about her looks. These people’s behavior is shocking and very inappropriate! 

Children with physical disabilities cannot leave the house without fear of being judged. This constant concern causes severe negative impacts on their mental health.

A study was done by the National Library of Medicine where they surveyed groups of children with various disabilities to see what the rates of mental illness were. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Among these 9 studies, 6 reported on rates of mental health problems, specifically spina bifida, juvenile arthritis, cerebral palsy, and other conditions, ranging from 16.0% to 69.0%. Mental health problems in participants with spina bifida were 49.2% to 69.0%; juvenile arthritis, 41.6%; cerebral palsy, 16.0%; and other, 32.2% to 50.8%.” Children with disabilities tend to have high rates of mental illness. 

There has also frequently been a lack of empathy shown by government officials; however, there have in the past been efforts to help this. For example, according to the National Archives, in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed by President George Bush. This act was put into place to protect the rights of Americans with disabilities. This includes service animal regulations, parking, and many other ways. 

Treatments for disabled children can be extremely expensive. If there is a low-income family with a disabled member, any medical treatments can result in them not being able to afford food. 

In the case of affording just prosthetic limbs throughout a person’s life, The National Library of Medicine states that the “Estimated lifetime prosthetic costs for an individual with unilateral lower limb amputation could range from $0.5 to $1.8 million depending on many factors, such as the number and type of prostheses in service at a given time.” A low-income family would not be able to afford this, especially when considering how rapidly children grow. Prosthetic limbs are incredibly expensive and tend to wear out very easily. If the family has insurance, it will almost always only cover part of the expense and it can still cost thousands of dollars. In this case, the families can often apply through the Americans with Disabilities Act to receive some funding to help with this.

Children growing up with disabilities are automatically perceived to be less capable regardless of their abilities. They are frequently judged by strangers who know nothing of them or their families. This can eventually cause severe mental health issues. 

Many disabled people are just as capable as the rest of us but do things in different ways. These problems are well known by the government and so they created the Americans with Disabilities Act to help with the difficulties that a family may experience. This can help to make these people’s lives easier and happier.