Physically challenged children are seen by most families in Nigeria as plagues or shameful, which is why they are mostly neglected or abandoned. Some even use these children as a means to beg for alms and enrich their own pockets.
Such children need special assistance to survive due to their inability to use some parts of their bodies effectively.
Disabled children have challenges such as impaired sight, hearing difficulties, body immobility, learning disabilities and so on. This implies that they have to be taken special care of which can be very demanding.
How can you cope with physically challenged children?
1. See them as a part of the family
Why most families neglect and abandon their physically challenged children is because they see them as not being part of the family. These children are stigmatized and seen as a source of shame.
The first thing to do is to love that child and see him or her as a part of your family. This will be done with the knowledge that these children did not choose to be in the state they are.
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2. Encourage the child to accept who he (she) is
Physically challenged children are mostly stigmatized by the society which is why as a parent, you must encourage that child to believe in himself (herself).
You can show the child examples of those that suffered similar challenges but became someone to reckon with today. This will help that child to be focused and not limited to his or her disabilities.
3. Enroll the child in special schools
There are special schools that take care of conditions of disabilities that affect children. Find out the one that suits the disability of your child and enroll the child for proper training and schooling.
4. Go for proper treatment
In Nigeria, it is common to find some parents who abandon their physically challenged children at home without treating their conditions properly. This is wrong as it could worsen and make such child miserable.
In most government hospitals in Nigeria, there are specialists that can take care of the various disabilities affecting children. Take your child to these hospitals and specialists for proper treatment as you may not know if the condition can still be helped.
5. Assist the child to do what he (she) love
No child is useless; there are certain abilities in the disabilities of that child; that is why it is spelled as DIS-ABILITIES because ABILITIES is obviously present.
What you should do is are out what the child love to do after which you can get a trainer who can help build this ability into something great.
6. Protect your child from an abusive environment
An abusive environment is not healthy for physically challenged children as it makes them see only their challenges and nothing good about themselves.
An Abusive environment can lead disabled and challenged children to do risky things or even take their own lives. This is why you must keep your child away from anyone that is fond of abusing or insulting your child. If the school is responsible for this, you should change the school and enroll your child elsewhere.
7. Be positive
Taking care of physically disabled children can be very challenging and at the same time frustrating because it takes time for them to adjust to learning and training. However, as a parent, you must remain positive, doing more to get the best out of that child.
Love your child and see beyond the physical challenges. Encourage yourself when you feel tired and encourage your child also that he(she) can achieve success if the right effort is put to it.
