Message: Abilities of a disabled child to learn could be improved through focusing on their aspirations needs.
Purpose: I want to persuade schoolteachers, community and other agencies that deal with child care to fully address disabled children learning needs. This article recommends parents and teachers to recognize each child’s individual talents and their unique ways of learning.

Introduction
The Convention on the Rights of the Child acknowledges that childhood is a unique period in the life of all persons and as such, children are entitled to special care and assistance.

“World fit for all children is one in which all children get the best possible start in life and have access to a quality basic education, including primary education that is compulsory and available free to all… and have ample opportunity to develop their individual capacities in a safe and supportive environment.”
Article 23 – Children with Disabilities, UNCRC 2003

Over the years, since initial National Plans of Action were developed and implemented, the rights of children with disabilities have often been forgotten or ignored. Children with learning disabilities are not properly assessed, so their learning disabilities remain unidentified. Children with diagnosed learning disabilities rarely receive the special education services they need. Supporting children with disabilities and their families is generally viewed as a separate consideration altogether. Children with disabilities are often unnecessarily segregated from their non-disabled peers (either in separate schools or in separate classrooms). Their needs and rights are not viewed in tangent with the needs and rights of children in general.

Early childhood life
Levine (2003) states that each child has a different type of mind, with its own strengths and weaknesses. A child’s failure to succeed in aspects of schoolwork is actually a failure of teachers and parents to recognize each child’s individual talents and his unique way of learning.

Learning problems in disabled children may only be in our minds: we are already convinced that disabled children are inferior and now we are reaping the consequences. Most disabled children are under-achievers in life and class work. We have convinced them that the model of life we give them is special, inferior, second rate. We have subjected them to decades of brainwashing. This is illustrated in the two case studies below. In these cases, all seems to be well, except that the children concerned are following a predetermined way of life, which is inferior to what they wanted to achieve. We should be annoyed by these stories because we are teaching our disabled children, like an organ grinder teaches his monkey, to sit up and beg, cutely and sweetly.

Let’s first look on the psychological stages a disabled child undergoes in their normal development because this impacts on their adjustment to their disability. In children under five years, the natural inquisitiveness of others about their disability may result in the child becoming angry, depressed, isolated or in denial about their condition. The child’s first days at school may be full of anxiety if they are teased or excluded. However, in time and with appropriate family support, most children develop a level of acceptance about their disability.

Children with diagnosed learning disabilities are often not provided with the special education services they need. Without special education, children with disabilities typically experience early academic failure. As they mature, frustration sets in, when they realize that their skills are left undeveloped and they become alienated from their peers, teachers, and families. A WLCDR study carried out in the USA established that when learning disabilities are not addressed, behavioral problems begin to mask the initial disability. In some cases, the unacceptable behavior escalates into a criminal problem: 50-78% of young people in the USA who are incarcerated have one or more learning disabilities.

Children with learning disabilities that are not addressed often drop out of high school, or barely pass their final exams. This leads them to take low-paying, unskilled jobs, even though their intelligence levels would equip them for college and a choice of career.

Special schools has Nothing to plant:
Teachers are supposed to be facilitators of a child’s learning but this has not been the case in many developing countries. In Kenya and other African countries, parents and caregivers entrust the education of their disabled children to special schools. However, the majority of these institutions are ill equipped to provide a varied syllabus and have predetermined outputs that are irrelevant to disabled children’s visions and aspirations.

Segregated classes – characteristic of many special schools – are often not rigorous and do not have as many resources as regular education classes. Special schools are rarely accessible or user-friendly and are often poorly funded by the government. Segregating students with disabilities denies them the opportunity of socializing with non-disabled peers and developing social skills they will need in life. Segregation also denies non-disabled students the opportunity to learn about and from students with disabilities, with whom they will interact in the real world. This helps maintain non-disabled people's stereotypes about people with disabilities. The problem is even more complicated if the families are uninformed about the causes and management of their children’s disabilities.

The Personal Life of a Disabled Child.
Frustration among disabled children in special schools is high, often stemming from a predetermined and inappropriate curriculum. For example, children with disabilities are rarely allowed to participate in science subjects, regardless of their preferences. The geographical situation of many special schools demands that children stay in hostels away from their families. Thus, parents are not able to monitor the performance of their children as closely as they would like.

The personal stories below show that parents, teachers and those who care for children can identify learning their capabilities and assist the disabled child in identifying his aspirations and needs. The stories illustrate how parents and teachers can strengthen a child’s abilities, thus minimizing his weaknesses, producing positive results instead of repeated frustration and failure.

Case 1:
A 14 year-old fourth form girl with both lower limbs paralyzed by polio at age two has been placed in a school for the physically handicapped. She is bitter that her parents were reluctant to allow her join the prestigious alliance high school where she had previously been admitted. They feared that other pupils would mistreat her. Her favorite subjects are physics, chemistry and biology and she wants to be a pharmacist. Her school, Thika School for the Physically Handicapped, does not offer her favourite subjects, which is a handicap in itself. Her wish is to be in a mainstream school, where the curriculum is flexible and she can learn from other aspiring, able-bodied and disabled pupils as role models. If she trained as a pharmacist, her prospects of good employment would be high. What she needs from the community, particularly her parents and teachers, is empathy and not sympathy.

The restrictions of specials school have limited this girl to a specific stage in life. She is already frustrated and any further learning is thus likely to be reduced, which violates her rights. The chances are high that she won’t utilize her knitting skills later in life. She feels that she is inferior and third rate.

A Better Approach.
A better approach to resolving this problem would have been to allowed her to join her chosen mainstream school. She had proved she was academically capable by achieving the admission criteria of the mainstream school. Her situation could have been addressed if parents, teachers and caregivers had:
• determined the girl’s level or degree of understanding of her situation and how to improve it
• ascertained her degree of competence and her capabilities

Addressing disabled children’s aspirations requires the involvement of various stakeholders. Children’s aspirations are multifaceted and run across the socio-economic status of the community. Contributors such as teachers and other disabled children may help their peers to solicit resources that will address most of their needs. A disabled child’s schoolmates also represent valuable potential partners who are often ready and able to help in supporting them. This type of relationship stimulates aspirations and brings a positive sense of competition in children. This is highlighted in the second case study:
Case 2:
A nine year-old blind male student is happy that his family friends advised his parents that he would be better placed in a regular school by giving them an example of a prominent lawyer who is totally blind. They preferred that their child be placed in a normal school, as they saw that he could adapt easily. He has been enrolled in Kilimani Integrated School in Nairobi, Kenya since pre-school age. His classmates at Kilimani primary school admire his performance in class, as he frequently tops the class and inspires others to compete. He can type on a Braille machine and the computer better than other children. He wants to be a lawyer and his parents always support him. He competes in athletics in with his friends Jane and Jimmy. He delights in his newfound friendship with his classmates. He is confident in his new environment and feels he can do anything.

The peer role models shared between this boy and his classmates have helped him to face life positively and move actively towards his aspirations.

Coping with Disabled Children’s Learning Needs
Teachers in special schools often lack appropriate training in human resources and materials to cater for the extra learning needs of children with disabilities. There is a need to develop learning materials such as books, charts, audio and visual aids to enhance the curriculum for these children. Many teachers feel that they are not properly equipped to handle all disabled children’s needs. Capacity building is needed for teachers to help them cope with their new role as facilitators in addressing disabled children’s learning needs. This could be done through seminars and workshops. Refresher courses should also be introduced in teacher training colleges, as well as a reconstruction of curricula to impart new skills to trainee teachers.

Equipping class teachers with these skills should enable them to:
• Assess each child’s needs and sourcing for essential learning materials
• Encourage group work between disabled and non-disabled children, parents and the wider community
• Facilitate different ways of learning for disabled children, non-disabled children, parents and the community

The Role of Parents
Parents have the right to participate in education and decision-making processes concerning their disabled children. Support from family members plays a significant role helping children adjust to their disabilities. A family member who responds with empathy, while at the same time maintaining high expectations is the most helpful. Teachers should assist parents in developing skills to cope with their children’s new learning mechanisms. Workshops and seminars on communication and behaviour change for parents of disabled children could be facilitated by teachers.

The Role of Community Education

The role of community education is to supply community members with education materials for behavioral change and how disability can be better handled. The goal is to deliver complete rehabilitation for disabled children based on the argument that rehabilitation consists of helping disabled children to regain their active role in their community. The community might address the psychological implications of their actions to disabled children and how they affect their education.

Conclusion
Disabled children’s learning in mainstream schools will be enhanced when teachers, parents and disabled children fulfill their roles in addressing their learning needs. By clearly addressing disabled children’s aspirations, these stakeholders may develop insight, diplomacy, the ability to aspire and mobilize others and improve their organizational skills. Let us not blindly believe that special curriculums are the solution to everything. Let us recognize that an obsessive belief in specially designed courses has many unfortunate consequences: for example, smallness of mind, lack of compassion and a deficit in generosity. If we are to give our disabled children the education they deserve, let it be one that builds on their aspirations.

References.
1. Western law centres for disability right-WLCDR (www.wlcdr.org). The learning right projects.
2. Individualized child care for children with disabilities (www.easterseals.org.) Meeting the needs of all children.