Practitioners often say that they cannot work with disabled children because of their lack of knowledge about impairments, syndromes, conditions, specialised equipment and medical procedures. In fact knowledge about these issues is not a prerequisite. Sometimes it can even be unhelpful and lead to over-generalisation and inappropriate limitations being placed on children.
Some knowledge of a particular syndrome and condition may be necessary for physical care and education, but we must beware in case too great a focus on medical details obscures the child as an individual. This is the medical model of disability that views the child as faulty and often neglects the strengths of the child.
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