The Need for Involving Parents in the Rehabilitation of Persons with Special Needs in Nigeria

The age long global trend of institutionalizing special needs persons/children for their rehabilitation is now being deemphasized in both the developed and the developing worlds. Emphasis is now shifted on the need for family and community involvement in the care and rehabilitation of children with disabilities. Thus, advocacy on the promotion of their well-being is now focused on community-based rehabilitation which many scholars consider as down to earth and more natural since the target population reside in their domain. Further, it entails the utilization of locally available resources to train special needs children/persons amongst varied communities. It is in this dimension that this paper discusses crucial issues such as what constitutes special children, their nature, needs as well as what constitutes specially in such children. In the same vein, the plight of the children in question has been highlighted bearing in mind socio-cultural practices, beliefs and attitudinal dispositions of the general populace as they pertain to parents/guardians of children with disabilities. Having clearly, highlighted the plight of special children in the Nigerian context, strategies to enhance their well-being as related to education, social as well as their economic aspect of life were also dwelt upon.