After the family, the community is the first point of contact for children with special needs. A supportive community will foster growth and encourage parents of children with special needs to ask for help and assistance and this is fully evident in our brief conversation with the Iyalode of Ebute Iganmu, in person or Chief (Mrs) Iyabo Hassan who throughout our conversation maintained her stand on children with special needs being gifts from God and how they should be adequately taken care of. 

Purple dew: How can parents and caregivers better support the medical needs of their children with disabilities?

Chief Mrs: In our community we have children with disabilities and we’re doing our best to make them feel inclusive. Some of the mothers that have these children usually hide them, however the ones we know, we usually encourage them and make them understand that the children are gifts from God and they’re not to be hidden for any reason. Everyone is putting hands together to see these children with disabilities. Like this initiative you brought, we have seen something like it before but it was not done in our community. We are so grateful about this initiative that you brought to our community. God will continue to assist you. Continue to enlighten us on how we can take care of these children with disabilities. Some of them cannot walk properly while some of them are struggling and some of them are crawling. What we want is that continuous enlightenment on how we can continue to take care of these children so we can likewise share to the parents when we have our meetings. That this is how they should take care of such children with disabilities, this enlightenment is what we need. 

Purple dew: What do you see as the most important need for children with disabilities here?

Chief Mrs: The help I want you to do for them, first what they will be using, the second one is about their education some parents have tried so much to put this children in school, some cannot talk properly and some others cannot walk and you know in school they will separate the children with disabilities from others. Some of these parents don’t know where else to put them. So they can have quality education like every other child. That is the assistance that is needed at this time. Maybe it’s a school you will refer to them or assistance if such child with disability is in school, there should be preference on the exams and teaching styles. So this children with disability can be well educated. 

Purple dew: What do you see as the most important need for children with disabilities here?

Chief Mrs: That is what you’re doing presently, that we can enlighten our community is what you’re doing presently. This initiative is what will enlighten the people that such children with disabilities are not meant to be abandoned. They can be prominent in future so what we will do is gather as many as we can just like you’ve gathered us here, we will appeal to parents with children with disabilities not to hide them as they can be useful in the society. Although It is you (medical practitioners) that can advise on what can get them better, ours on the other hand is to advocate and let the parents know that children with disabilities are not meant to be abandoned. 

Purple dew: What can the government do to ensure that children with disabilities are included in education and other public services?

Chief Mrs: What the government needs to do to assist us is part of what you (purple dew) are already doing. Please tell the government to assist us by building special schools for children with disabilities so they can be educated and they should get teachers that are willing to do the job, not ones that will be aggressive towards the children. The kind of teachers that will be patient enough to guide the children, that is what we ask of the government. If the school is to be paid for, the government should subsidize it so the parents can afford it and if it is free let the government do it, we will be so glad. So that these children will not just be there unattended to. 

Community involvement is crucial in supporting children with disabilities. Chief Mrs. Hassan stressed the importance of community involvement in supporting these children all through our conversation, encouraging parents to seek help and advocating for inclusivity.

Inclusive education is vital for children with disabilities. Chief Mrs. Hassan advocates for inclusive education, suggesting that the government establish special schools for children with disabilities, staffed by patient and trained teachers.

Government support is absolutely necessary to ensure children with disabilities receive the care and opportunities they deserve. The Iyalode of Ebute Iganmu calls on the government to provide subsidies or free education for these children.

Lastly, Establishing community support groups, developing inclusive education programs, providing accessible healthcare services, and advocating for policy changes can help support children with disabilities and we all should be a part of this.