Common Physical Disabilities in Children

Physical disabilities are any sort of impairment in one’s body parts that limits one’s quality of life. Many kinds of disabilities exist, and the most common ones we encounter are people who have impaired limbs or senses.

Disabilities in one’s body can come in many forms. They could come as temporary limitations caused by unfortunate events or mishaps such as accidents or neglect of one’s wellbeing. These disabilities are usually present in the form of temporary blindness, strains and sprains, and broken bones. On the other hand, they can also come in significant, permanent, and life-changing handicaps. These permanent disabilities include severed limbs, paralysed body parts, and permanent sensory impairment.

People can live through temporary disabilities without many worries, and they rarely affect one’s bodily functions in the long term as long as they’re treated well. On the other hand, permanent disabilities may require significant changes in one’s lifestyle. This is particularly true in children who experience handicaps and disabilities at young ages.

Children with disabilities need support from their loved ones. Many people agree that while handicaps drastically change how children grow up and live, the quality of their lives also depend on the care and love they receive from the people around them. They also need help from disability support groups to provide them with services such as occupational therapy for counselling, or speech therapy for verbal handicaps.

Here are the common physical disabilities in children.

Visual Impairment

These handicaps can often come in the form of blindness or partial loss of vision. The most common visual impairment in children is myopia, which is the professional term for short-sightedness. Fortunately, myopia can be corrected with a visit to an optometrist who provides correction glasses after a medical check.

Another common visual impairment is amblyopia, which is known as “lazy eye.” This is characterized by an uneven alignment of the eyes, where one eyeball is pointed outward or inward whereas the other one points forward.

Blindness can also affect children at any age, and the effects can either be permanent or temporary. Children with permanent blindness need support and care from their loved ones to help them adjust to the drastic changes in their lifestyle.

Speech Impairment

These are difficulties in speaking and can be found in all children whether or not they have mental disabilities. Many speech impediments come from social factors such as anxiety or discomfort toward other people. Other disabilities can also be caused by mental disabilities such as autism or Down syndrome.

Many speech impediments can be treated by visiting an occupational therapist who provides disability support services such as speech therapy.

Hearing Impairment

This can come in the form of partial loss of hearing or complete deafness. Hearing impairments can be caused by accidents and mishaps, hereditary factors, or diseases. Children with hearing loss need regular visits to therapists and specialists who can help them adjust to their sensory impairment. Fortunately, many hearing impairments can be corrected through assistive devices such as hearing aids. On the other hand, people who are deaf can still live semi-normal lives through the help of disability support services such as therapy.