The Archway

Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Campus News

Learning that their child has a disability comes as a shock to any parent. The challenges that families face in caring for the special needs of such a children are numerous and complex and many feel helpless not knowing how to support their child. In the United States, with a well developed system of both governmental and independent organizations providing support for such families, researchers and specialists are dedicated to find new ways in which disabilities can be treated and how some of the burdens for affected individuals and their relatives can be lightened. They offer not only medical services, but have also developed special educational systems and programs for disabled citizens to be integrated into society allowing them to gain as much freedom and independency as possible.

In China, such a modern welfare system resembles a distant dream to many. In a country with over 1.3 billion people and widespread poverty, families are the only type of social support system that exists. Medical insurance is limited and systems to support elderly, sick or disabled people are very limited. Due to the absence of a retirement system, parents depend on their children to care for them once they reach an old age. Therefore, parents set all their hopes on their children to lead successful lives in order to not only be there for their own children but also support their parents later on. In such a social system, where each member of the family has a very demanding role to fulfill, there is very little room for any type of weakness.

In order to personally tell the hardship faced by disabled children and their families in modern China, Dr. Helen McCabe, Assistant Professor of Education at Hobart and William Smith Colleges visited Bryant University on November 15, 2007. Invited by the U.S.-China Institute and Confucius Institute's monthly China Seminar Series as part of the efforts to celebrate this year's International Education Week, McCabe told the story of Zhang Ge, a young Chinese woman who had been diagnosed with a disability called autism at the age of three. Autism, a type of brain development disorder, impairs the communication and social interaction skills of those affected by it. As in the case of Zhang Ge, it can be diagnosed at a very young age. However, this is of very limited help to the families of affected children or adults, since they often don't have the necessary funds or information to act in order to take care of their child's special needs. This puts parents in a very difficult situation, and "many feel completely helpless", as expressed by Dr. McCabe. Costs pose the primary issue, as both parents must work in order to cover additional medical and supporting costs. The number and quality of special education schools is very limited and although the number of such institutions is growing, the qualification of the staff is often questionable. Parents are worried: "what will happen if I get sick or die and can no longer care for my child? Who will care for my child if I can no longer fulfill this role?" The issue is complex and the lack of government funding causes further distress and uncertainty among those concerned.

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