Children With Disabilities Want Greater Inclusion, Acceptance

Children with disabilities are calling for greater inclusion and acceptance by society, noting that they are just as capable and important as able-bodied children.

“I want both the disabled and the able-bodied persons to be on the same level,” said 17-year-old McKayla Fitzgerald, who is deaf.

“There is no disparity, no difference, we just want equality,” she added.

McKayla, who was communicating through a sign-language interpreter, was among seven children with special needs who participated in a Children’s Day forum hosted by the Ministry of Education and Youth at the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Library, recently.

The participants, who also included children who are visually impaired and autistic, were given the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns on matters of equality, children’s safety, and parenting.

Seventeen-year-old Nicola Anderson, who is visually impaired, reminded the public that children with disabilities have the right to be seen and heard.

“As a person with a disability, we’re often overlooked, pushed aside and just left to accept anything. As children, we have a right, and one of those rights is to speak, and as adults your responsibility is to listen,” she shared.

Deaf student Adien-Neil McLead agreed, noting that “people who are deaf can participate in anything. We are important, our language is important and it’s vital for people to listen to us, understand our struggles and know exactly what we’re dealing with”.

Twelve-year-old Gabrielle Jones, who is also from the deaf community, said it is important for parents to take the time to learn sign language, so that they can communicate with their deaf children.

“They can’t keep telling us that they don’t know or they can’t do it; they just need to learn,” she said.

Adien-Neil agreed, noting that schools should teach sign language as they do French, Spanish, and other languages.

“Why not teach sign language to communicate with deaf people?” he asked.

McKayla, for her part, highlighted the need for greater involvement by parents in the lives of their special needs children.

“Parents should focus on their children more and not just on their personal business. I want my parents to show me the world and teach me about their experiences; I want to be a part of that,” she pointed out.

Meanwhile, Education Officer in the Special Education Unit, Christina Addington, said the Ministry is committed to promoting inclusion in schools.

“Our education system is really putting things in place, because many of the students share that they feel different or left out,” she said.

She noted that the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) and the Jamaica Association for the Deaf are involved in developing sign language courses for all education stakeholders to access.

She called on the wider society to consider special needs children as “children first”, who deserve as much love and care as those who are without a disability.

“They have disabilities but they also have abilities, so include them in all the things, like extracurricular activities. Parents, take them out to the supermarkets, the movies [and such] for them to be seen,” she suggested.

Senior Director of the Children’s Affairs Policy Division, Hyacinth Blair, told the students that they “are not alone in their challenges”.

“We’re here to help, here to listen and we want to provide solutions for the issues that are raised,” she said.

Child Month is being observed under the theme ‘Listen Up! Children’s Voices Matter’.