Imagine a child who not only struggles to walk but is constantly stared at, mocked, or ignored. Now, imagine a child silently battling with anxiety or depression and having no space to express it. Children with disabilities often feel isolated and go unnoticed. The world can be a difficult place for children with a disability to live in when the emotional turmoil of the child remains hidden.
Disability refers to a condition that limits children mentally or physically. It also impairs senses. In Pakistan, both mental health and disability are unseen. Children with disability face a dual burden. On one side, they are physically or cognitively impaired, and on the other side, they also face social exclusion, bullying, and lack of understanding. This issue is widespread in Pakistan. No one cares about children with disabilities, nor do people care about their mental health. This issue is largely overlooked and unaddressed in Pakistan.
It is important and urgent to talk about this issue because children with such a condition are more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and emotional distress.
The Unseen Side of Disability
When someone thinks of disability, only one thing comes to their minds that is visible or physical disability. However, the main issue that children are facing alone remains unnoticed, i.e., the emotional weight these children carry every day caused by stress, rejection or emotional exhaustion.
Children with disabilities are often overlooked in classrooms, rejected by peers, and treated as a burden by their families. This disparity leads to loneliness, low self-esteem, and anxiety. They feel they are less than others and are a burden on this earth.
A report by UNICEF states that children with disabilities experience four times more emotional distress compared to children without disabilities. In Pakistan, mental health services remain inaccessible to most, especially those in rural or low-income areas.
Mental Health Challenges Faced by Children with Disabilities
Following are the mental health challenges faced by children with disabilities.
Emotional and Physical Challenges
Children with disabilities feel anxious and live with constant fear of being judged or ignored. Moreover, constant exclusion can lead to feelings of loneliness, isolation, worthlessness, and hopelessness. Children with disabilities also have low self-esteem and negative attitudes towards life. They also have a negative self-image. They have disturbed daily routines and low confidence.
Social Struggles and Isolation
Children with disabilities are the victims of bullying. Children tease them by calling them names or excluding them from groups. In many schools in Pakistan, there is a lack of awareness about disability, which results in strange treatment towards children suffering from it. Because of the persistent isolation, children with disabilities withdraw from social situations; they corner themselves and do not feel worthy to be part of social gatherings.
Communication Issues
Children with cognitive impairment struggle to express themselves. They also feel misunderstood or ignored, due to which they feel frustrated, alienated, and emotionally distressed.
Issues Faced by Children Because of Their Families
Some parents become overprotective, which limits their children’s emotional growth. Some neglect children, causing them to feel unloved. Moreover, in many households, children with disabilities are compared to their siblings with no disabilities, which leads to jealousy and feelings of inadequacy.
Educational and Institutional Stressors
In Pakistan. Schools have no support system like counselling and lack awareness as well. Teachers are untrained; they do not know how to behave with such children. They are also unable to recognize the psychological needs of children with disabilities. Furthermore, children lack emotional inclusion, and there is also physical inaccessibility in schools, like stairs without ramps. Finally, schools lack inclusive education frameworks; for example, children with undiagnosed disabilities are labeled as slow and expelled from schools, as seen in rural Punjab.
Limited Access to Mental Health
Pakistan has a shortage of professionals in child psychology. Additionally, they are present only in urban areas, and children in rural areas do not have access to mental health professionals. Similarly, early signs of emotional distress in children with disabilities are misdiagnosed or ignored. So, the delay in treatment results in long-term psychological harm. Moreover, people have financial constraints, which limits them to take their impaired children to mental health services.
For instance, according to a news report by Geo in 2022, the autism diagnosis rate has been on the rise in Lahore because parents now in recognition of slow development but are still naïve about the extent to which this condition will take an emotional toll on their children. Most of the children were reported suffering from severe social anxiety and behavioral regression, all due to lack of emotional support, both at home and in schools. It further highlighted that counselling services were either unavailable or financially out of reach for parents, thus leaving them helpless in trying to meet their children’s mental health needs.
Recommendations: Towards an Inclusive and Emotionally Supportive Future
For enhancement of the mental health outcomes of children with disabilities in Pakistan requires a multidimensional approach. These recommendations are directed towards families, educators, policymakers, and society in general.
Mental Health Services to be Incorporated in Special Education
Every Special school and regular school needs to have a trained counselor or psychologist on their premises who understands disability and child psychology. Additionally, opportunity for emotional check-ins, therapy sessions, and inclusive extracurricular activities can help children channel their feelings in a safe area.
Training for Teachers and Caregivers
Teachers will have periodic training sessions on inclusive practices and identifying emotional distress signals. Furthermore, parents and caregivers would be offered workshops on emotional needs, burnout, and healthy communication with the children.
Conducting Awareness Campaigns
There should be public awareness campaigns launched by the government and NGO’s to counter societal stigma regarding both the disability and mental health. Moreover, stories of resilience, inclusion, and recovery may help to set up new public attitudes and counter discrimination.
Strengthen Policies and Legislation
Institute national guidance policies are necessary that ensure psychological support for all disability-related programs. Such disability inclusion needs to extend to mental health coverage in public health care services and insurance schemes.
Advance Early Intervention and Screening
Mental health screening should become an automatic component of assessment for physical development for infants and toddlers when in the event of certain disabilities. This enables amelioration early and thus might even prevent damage from progressing into adulthood.
Facilitate Peer Support and Integration in Schools
Encourage inclusive lecture rooms, and empathy-building programs to help reduce bullying and social isolation. Similarly, each child should learn about disability, diversity and respect from an early age.
The Accessibility and Affordability of Therapy Services
Increased funding should be allocated for child mental health services, particularly in public enterprises and rural clinics. Collaboration between universities and training institutes is vital for an increase in the numbers of child psychologists and therapists who specialize in disability interventions.
