Living with Two Challenges

Living with a disability already presents significant barriers to everyday life. Difficulties with learning, communication, or mobility often limit participation in school, recreation, and social interaction — leading to frustration, disappointment, and emotional strain.

With the right support, progress is possible. But achieving it often demands far more effort and time, leaving little room for rest, enjoyment, or connection with peers.

A Worrying Reality

Studies show that around 40% of children and young people with disabilities experience a mental health condition — compared with 11.6% in the general population.

The most common diagnoses include:

• Anxiety disorders
• Mood disorders and depression
• Occasionally schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

While some mental health difficulties may share the same genetic or neurological causes as the disability, they more often arise from inadequate support, exclusion, or unrecognised distress.

Why Mental Illness Is More Common

Children and young people with disabilities face unique pressures that can increase vulnerability to poor mental health:

• Reduced cognitive ability can make daily tasks and schoolwork overwhelming, leading to low self-esteem and depression.
• Limited understanding of stressful events often heightens fear and anxiety.
• Greater exposure to bullying or exclusion contributes to isolation and emotional pain.
• Social skill gaps can make friendships harder to build and maintain.
• Increased risk of abuse or exploitation adds layers of trauma and mistrust.

Why Mental Health Needs Are Overlooked

Despite the high prevalence, mental illness in young people with disabilities is often missed or misinterpreted.

Many professionals lack the training to differentiate between symptoms of disability and signs of mental illness. Behavioural changes — such as anger, withdrawal, or aggression — are frequently viewed as part of the disability itself and managed behaviourally, without exploring emotional or psychological causes.

Communication barriers add another challenge. Many children simply cannot express how they feel or explain the cause of their distress, making it easy for mental health needs to go unnoticed.

What Needs to Change

To improve recognition, care, and outcomes, coordinated action is essential:

• Increase awareness and mental health training among everyone supporting children with disabilities — including teachers, parents, carers, and healthcare professionals.
• Expand access to specialised clinicians, such as psychologists and psychiatrists trained in learning and developmental disabilities.
• Adapt and apply effective therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), which can be successfully modified for children with disabilities.

Building a More Inclusive Future

Raising awareness of the mental health needs of children and young people with disabilities is vital. Early recognition, compassionate understanding, and access to specialised support can transform lives.

By ensuring that no child’s emotional wellbeing is overlooked because of their disability, we create a more inclusive society — one that values every child’s potential for growth, happiness, and belonging.

Tags: #Mentalhealth, #Specialneeds, #Burden, #Caregiving, #Childrenmentalhealth, #Mentalhealthawareness, #Disability, #Livingwithdisability