A Systematic Review of Generic and Special Needs of Children with Disabilities Living in Poverty Settings in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

Children with disabilities living in poverty settings in low and middle-income countries are particularly in need of special support designed to meet the needs occurring in an environment where poverty is prevalent and resources are scarce. This paper presents a systematic review of the needs of children with disabilities living in poverty settings in low and middle-income countries using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a theoretical framework.The findings demonstrate that needs at the first level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs are more frequently researched in low and middle-income countries. Higher order needs should be further explored and children's own voices should be taken into consideration when performing research, designing policies and services aiming at increased service user empowerment.

Human rights of children with intellectual disabilities: comparing self‐ratings and proxy ratings

“…In LAMI countries, proxy ratings are often used in studies on children with disabilities to research basic needs such as food and water (Lygnegård et al . ) and our study confirms that lower‐level basic needs can indeed be surveyed using proxy ratings. However, the results indicate that it is especially important to consider the own voices of children with disabilities in LAMI countries when their more complex higher‐order needs are surveyed.…”

“…However, surveys investigating the needs of children with disabilities in low‐ and middle‐income (LAMI) countries rely almost exclusively on proxy ratings from persons such as parents, relatives or other support persons (Lygnegård et al . ). Children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are a particularly vulnerable group for voicing their own opinions since they are often dependent on others – both to express themselves and to have their needs met (Oosterhoorn & Kendrick ).…”

“…They also found that the basic level of needs (level 1), as described by Maslow (), was more frequently researched, whereas higher‐order needs such as self‐fulfilment (level 5) were seldom investigated (Lygnegård et al . ). Hardly any comparisons are available of self‐ratings and proxy ratings concerning needs and rights fulfilment on different levels for children with ID.…”

“…In a systematic review to investigate generic and special needs of children with disabilities in LAMI countries, Lygnegård and colleagues () found only one paper that presented the children's own opinions. They also found that the basic level of needs (level 1), as described by Maslow (), was more frequently researched, whereas higher‐order needs such as self‐fulfilment (level 5) were seldom investigated (Lygnegård et al .…”

Making sustainability in occupational therapy visible by relating to the Agenda 2030 goals – A case description of a Swedish university

“…Moreover, an interdisciplinary approach is crucial in designing interventions to increase participation in and outside school activities (SDGs 4 and 10), and, related to SDG 3, it is not a diagnosis per se that primarily affects participation but rather factors such as sibling support and family atmosphere. Other research projects are related to children with disabilities (Lygnegård, Donohue, Bornman, Granlund, & Huus, 2013), children's rights, and basic and special needs in low-and middle-income countries (SDGs 1 and 10) (Huus, Granlund, Bornman, & Lygnegård, 2015). How children's voices are emphasised, and what rights, according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the children themselves think that they have, as well as the rights their primary caregivers think they have, have also been researched (Huus, Dada, Bornman, & Lygnegård, 2016), which relates to SDGs 1, 3, 4 and 5.…”