Childhood with disability – the problem of realizing the rights of the disabled child in social practice

Abstract

Childhood with disabilities is certainly an “old” problem that causes specific social consequences, but in the face of the growing rights of the child, including the disabled, new challenges emerge. A human rights-based approach takes into account and accentuates the child’s identity as a citizen and his rights as a modern concept of childhood (Corsaro, Jenks 2008; Prout, James 1997). Children in this new approach have become active participants in the social construction of childhood (Kwak, Mościskier 2002). The rights of the child are treated as an integral part of the human rights of every human being, including children with disabilities. Dissemination of the rights of the child as a citizen makes it possible to expose difficult experiences of physically and / or mentally handicapped children and young people. The experiences of young people with disabilities provide insights into what they think about education, health care and social policy. Most of these are negative experiences that confirm the exclusion of children and young people with disabilities practically from all walks of life, but it must also be stressed that the group of young people with disabilities is heterogeneous and their experiences are not always only negative (Davis 2004). This article deals with the situation of a child with a disability and his or her family, focusing on the specific difficulties that become involved and consequently hinder, and sometimes even prevent, the realization of their rights.