Henna Elina Hasari. Inclusion of Youth With Disabilities – Facing the Challenges and
Utilizing the Opportunities. The experiences of young people with physical disabilities in
Thika, Kenya. Järvenpää. Autumn 2011. P. 66. 2 appendices.
Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. Diak South. Järvenpää Unit. Degree Program
in Social Services, Bachelor of Social Sciences.
The aim of the study is to understand the everyday challenges Persons With Disabilities
(PWD) face in the Kenyan society and to learn the possible opportunities and support
networks which can be used more effectively when working towards the inclusion of
PWD and the rights-based approach in the field of community development and social
work with PWD. Special consideration was made in the fields of education and social
participation.
The research is based on qualitative methods of data gathering which included individual
interviews and focus group interviews with Young People with Physical Disabilities
(YPPD). In addition, the study was made in cooperation with the native professionals in
the Special Needs Education (SNE) field and with the actual professionals of the issue
who are the PWD themselves.
The results of the research are categorized into the main challenges and opportunities
based on the experiences of the interviewees. In addition, the paper also suggests ways
for inclusion based on the earlier researches as well as the interview material gathered
during the study. The main challenges discussed by the interviewees were attitudinal and
economic barriers which were visible school life and in their social life which also
included the leisure time activities such as going for shopping or participating in social
events. In addition, the structural barriers such as poor infrastructure came up during the
study. Furthermore, the opportunities and support factors found during the study were
possible social support networks (instant family, peer support, faith in God) and support
devices which eased the social participation of YPPD considerably.