At Risk Identification
Introduction:
The image of the child with disability in India is many faceted. The perception, who is “disabled” and “who has the disability”, is influenced by the social context that the child lives in, and not necessarily by the nature and degree of child’s impairment. A child with a mild form of disability may face exclusion in her contact, while another one with severe form of disability may experience no discrimination. The reasons for such variability in response to disability, understandably, lie in the social, cultural, religious, economic, and demographic heterogeneity of the Indian society.

Factors affecting child’s development.

Child’s development is affected by three subsystems, which forms the crux of child’s environment. 1) Physical and Social setting in child’s daily life i.e. physical context and people who interact with the child in that setting. The Indian child is never alone when young. The child is usually in close physical contact with the mother, sibling, or other kin. 2) Customs of childcare & socialization- All communities and culturally distinct subgroups have fairly well understood set of customs and practices regarding childcare. The child with disability receives parental care underscored by these customs, the specifics being guided by caste, social class, and ethnicity. 3) Parental beliefs of behaviour expected of children i.e. familial & community experience in socialization of children.

It is important that while analyzing the situation of the child with disability, the child be viewed in the context of these three subsystems, which share the function of mediating the child’s developmental experience within the larger culture.

In an attempt to understand childhood disability, this section will discuss important issues under the following themes: ➢ Defining Disability ➢ Early