The team of disabled village workers in Mexico was at first concerned mostly with
physical disabilities. But they soon realized that they also had to learn about other
disabilities. Even children whose main problem was physical, like polio, were often held
back by other (secondary) emotional, social or behavioral disabilities. And many children
with brain damage not only had difficulties with movement, but also were slow learners,
had seizures, or could not see or hear.
As the PROJIMO team’s need for information on different disabilities has grown, so
has this book. The main focus is still on physical disabilities, which are covered in more
detail. However, the book now includes a fairly complete (but less detailed) coverage of
mental slowness and developmental delay. Seizures (epilepsy) are also covered.
Blindness and deafness are included, but only in a very brief, beginner’s way. This
is partly because we at PROJIMO still do not have much experience in these areas. And
partly it is because seeing and hearing disabilities require so much special information
that they need to be covered in separate books. Hesperian has since produced good
instructional material on these disabilities. We list some of the best materials that we
know on p. 639 and 640.
Note: This book does not include disabilities which are mainly in the area of internal medicine,
such as asthma, chronic lung problems, severe allergies, heart defects, diabetes, bleeding
problems, cancers or HIV. And except for brief mention, it does not include very local disabilities
such as lathyrism (parts of India). In local areas where such disabilities are common, rehabilitation
workers should obtain information separately.
To decide which disabilities to put in this book and how much importance to give
to each, we used information from several sources, including the records of Project
PBOJIMO in Mexico. We found that the numbers of children with different disabilities
who came to PROJIMO were fairly similar to those in studies done by WHO, UNICEF,
and others in different areas of the world.
On the next page is a chart showing how many children with each disability might be
seen in a typical village area. (Of course, there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ village. The
patterns of disability in some areas will be quite different from those shown on the chart.)
The chart is based mainly on our records from PROJIMO over a 3-year period.
Notice that in the chart, the number of children with each disability corresponds more
or less to the relative importance that we give to each disability in this book. In certain
cases we have made exceptions. For example, few persons with leprosy have come to
PROJIMO. But we have included a long chapter on leprosy because we realize it is a big
problem in some places.
IMPORTANT: The disabilities discussed in this book are those that are most common in rural
areas in many countries. But not all disabilities are included. Also, certain disabilities may be
difficult to identify, or require special tests or analyses. When in doubt, try to get advice from
persons with more training and experience.
Clearly you cannot solve every problem. But there is much you can do. By asking
questions, carefully examining the child, and using whatever information and resources
you can find, you may be able to learn much about what these children need and to figure
out ways to help them manage better.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
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