Raising a disabled child

Raising a disabled child can never be easy. It comes with challenges of its own but they are challenges that can be dealt with. Mwereti Kanjo gets advice from experts on what to keep in mind when raising a disabled child.

Children are a blessing from God, and God will bless you with something that you can handle. Every mother wants a bouncy healthy baby but sometimes God will bless you with a disabled child.

It seems unfair, and for most people, the first reaction is to ask why you. Such questions come because of fear of the challenges that come with raising a disabled child, but also the reaction of those around you. Certainly, society does not make it easier.

But, one thing for sure is that you are not the first person to bear a disabled child. Those before you have done, some are doing it with you, and others will do it.

Executive director of Disabled Women in Development, Sigere Kakasi, said raising a disabled child should not be as hard as it was in earlier times because today there are a lot of organisations and equipment that were designed to ease the challenges brought about by disability.

According to Kakasi, a lot of people have challenges in raising disabled children because they want to take on the task single handedly.

“When parents have disabled children the first thing they ask is why us, but they forget to look around and see how many other families are raising disabled children. I will give you an example of myself. I was born in the Pemba family, the owners of Pemba Driving School. We were quite well to do.

“My parents have brought me up into and independent woman because they did not give up on me,” she said.

Psychologist Eric Umar said raising a disabled child can only be made easy if the parents accept the situation.

“There are two kinds of disabilities: Physical and mental. The physical disability is a lot easier to accept because it is there and you can see it. However, parents with mentally disabled children will sometimes always hold on to the hope that the child will get better. This hope is what makes the whole situation harder.”

“If a parent accepts beforehand that their child is disabled, it will allow them to look into the needs of the child which will ease life for the both of them,” said Umar.