ABSTRACT
The term, ‘children with disabilities’ refers to children up to the age of 18 who have ‘long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.’ Such children are often marginalized and experience widespread violations of their rights. The exclusion of these children from the mainstream society makes them even more vulnerable and hence unable to enjoy a life of dignity and individuality. Factors like poverty; isolation; lack of support and infrastructural facilities further vitiate the conditions of these children. Broadly the disabilities that can affect chil-dren can be classified into physical and learning disabilities and both of these need to addressed dif-ferently.
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A large proportion of these children are denied basic education and health care and are often denied the right to live in a family environment. The violence, exploitation and abuse that the-se children are subject to are reason to enough to integrate disability with all educational, health and developmental programmes as a global human rights issue.
This contribution aims to identify the key issues affecting the lives of children with disabilities and to also analyse the policies and programmes in place to address those issues. The paper will also address the range of disabilities that exist and management of the same in India and other countries.
Key Words: Child Disabilities; Physical and Learning Disability; Human Rights Violations; Con-vention on the Rights of Child; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Poverty; So-cial