This report reflects the work and contribution of people all over the world who struggle daily to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. This report is the culmination of three years of work by hundreds of families, people with intellectual disabilities and family based organizations in over 80 countries. This study consolidates information on the situations they face and it shares their perspectives on poverty and exclusion and what can be done to solve these problems.

This research was a series of regional studies undertaken through each of the five global regions – America, Africa and the Indian Ocean, Europe, Middle East and North Africa and Asia pacific.

The global report is organized in four main sections; the first, outlines the global study, undertaking of an initiative of this magnitude was challenging and inspiring. This section of the report reviews objectives, methodology of gathering information, the research challenges and the regional structure of the study. 

The second section of the report is the finding section; here each of the MDG (Millennium Development Gals) is defined. This section draws on both personal accounts and secondary research sources. It highlights the depth and extent of poverty and exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and their families and the devastating consequences. 

The third section contains recommendations and directions for change that the participants suggested. This report outlines suggested roles that civil society organizations should take alongside governments and donor and international agencies in beginning to advance this agenda of eliminating poverty and exclusion of people with an Intellectual disability and their families.

Purpose: 

The purpose of this study is to investigate some of the important problems influencing the education of deaf children in the schools for the deaf. 

Methodology: 

The participants of this study are students of grades 4, 5 and 6of Alpha School for the Deaf and Mekanisa School for the Deaf, teachers who were assigned to these classes and principals of the sample schools. Questioners and interview were used as a data collection instrument. 

Main findings: 

The great majority of hearing impaired pupils in the school for the deaf did not receive early under- parental training and treatment. Thus, they used to begin schooling with little or no early laid basis.

There is no-responsible body to identify hearing impaired children elsewhere and determine the extent of their needs for special education. Thus, parents were found to bring their handicapped children for registration in the school for the deaf with out any requirement for admission from the schools. 

The education and training offered by the schools for the deaf were found to be inadequate and incomplete to allow hearing impaired pupils maintain an independent life with in the society. This is due to two major reasons first; there is no specially designed curriculum for deaf pupils, second; lack of special teacher; teaching-leaning materials, and better facilities. 

Hearing impaired students were found to lack social integration with their hearing peers mainly due to a bad attitude of hearing children towards the deaf, and equally due to lack of means for the pupils which they blame it all on the schools. 

Pupils who have attained better auditory and oral status at a certain level of education in the special schools were found to stay in the schools due to the assumptions that regular schools are unable to meet the best interest of the deaf, and at times due to the feat that hearing impaired students are usually unwilling to transfer to an ordinary school. 

The schools for the deaf were found to accommodate no nursery classes for young children. 

Hearing impaired students are not provided with certain practical experience and guides, like educational excursions, sex instructions and guidance and counseling services. 

Almost all the teachers in the sample schools were found to lack basic training to teach the deaf. 

The adoption of one and the same teaching techniques for students with various auditory status and age has caused the pupils to lack equal chance to succeed with their education. There is a problem of large class sizes in the schools. 

The successes of the ’total communication’ approach over the manual and oral method of instruction used by the Alpha school for the deaf, was found to oppose the authorities opinion that just one method alone can serve all children with hearing impairment. 

The problem of maintaining suitable acoustic conditions within the classrooms has led to undesirable noise from the schools surrounding environment decreasing the efficiency of hearing aids during lessons. 

The difficulties encountered by hearing impaired students in attempting to read the lips of their instructors were found to influence classroom lessons. 

Conclusions: 

 The education of deaf children is said to be special education in the sense that it requires early treatment and training of deaf; especially designed-instruction which meets the unique characteristics and needs of hearing impaired children with special materials, teaching methodologies, equipments or facilities and deficits in one or more of these variables may have a negative impact on the education of hearing impaired children. However, the sample schools are likely to be weak with regard to almost all the variables highlighted in the main findings. 

The actual shortage of special teaching personnel and absence of a curriculum for the deaf appeared to be the major obstacles in adopting sound teaching techniques and classroom practices. The teaching techniques that are made available for these lessons are not supplemented with activities that will develop the language and word knowledge of the students like educational visits, social integration and guidance and counseling services. 

Recommendations: 

The purpose of implementing special educational programs for hearing impaired pupils is to treat them in a way that it is possible to meet their needs at that particular time. To acknowledge these programs however, it requires the cooperative effort of the state, government and public organizations, private agencies and the general public. Based on such a possibility, many countries have found that progress of hearing impaired students would take place if their training began as early as possible and proceeded through to the school years with special attention given to such practices as detection, assessment, placement etc.  

Organizing sufficient number of educational resource centers may be a long range plan, but organizing a team of special educational personnel to instruct parents on early treatment and training for their child may help to minimize the problems that hearing impaired children could encounter later when they begin their schooling. The team could also identify those children who have a greater need for special education and direct them to a special school. This may help to adopt good procedure in identification, assessment and placement of hearing impaired pupils. 

Organizing a team of workers including medical personnel, teachers and social workers whose task is to identify those children who have better auditory and oral status for integration into an ordinary school may have a number of advantages. Firstly; students can have a better chance for language and social development, secondly; there will be more opportunity for those who need special treatment and training to get places in special schools and thirdly; such a practice will contribute in minimizing the problem of large class sizes in schools for the deaf. 

Both, the development of a tailored curriculum for hearing impaired pupils and the training of teachers are considered as basic elements in the advancement of education for the deaf. But it requires full understanding that the absence of a tailored curriculum for deaf pupils has been a major obstacle preventing the implementation of things like the training of teachers, adoption of sound teaching techniques and classroom practices and extracurricular activities. Thus, measures should be taken by the Ministry of Education to establish a curriculum committee, whose duty would be to develop a comprehensive curriculum for deaf pupils. 

Organizing an integrated course for teachers’ training programs may be a long-term plan but preparing an in service training program for teachers with a short and intensive course about the subject matter is important and urgent for improving the standards of education and training within the schools for the deaf. 

Hearing impaired children often lack many skills and knowledge that hearing children of the same age are expected to have. Their education, thus, needs to be supplemented with the activities and experiences that integrate language learning, practical skills, social values and other similar variables.

Purpose: 

The main purpose of this study is to find out the major academic problems of Blind students in Addis Ababa University and Kotebe College of Teachers’ Education. 

Methodology: 

The research methodology employed to carry out this study was descriptive survey method. The participants drawn were blind students, officers of the guidance and counseling services and heads of the library departments of the two institutions mentioned above. To collect the data, structured interviews are prepared in Amharic for all the three groups of respondents. 

Main findings: 

It was found out that special orientations were not given to blind students prior to selecting departments. As the majority (75%) of respondents affirmed they were assigned to different departments on the basis of GPA like their sighted peers. 

The major sources of financial and educational materials were the institutions, Addis Ababa University and Kotebe College of Teachers’ Education. But the provisions were not sufficient enough to meet their educational needs. 

Blind students took examinations with the help of readers with the exception of first year students, who were not assigned readers. Moreover, it was the opinion of the student respondents that examinations were not appropriate to their physical limitations. Furthermore, it was found out that proper time was not allocated to attempt harder questions except for law students. 

According to student respondents, classrooms were neither easily identifiable nor suitable to record lectures on cassettes. It was also found out that none of the teaching methods used by the instructors were convenient or gave assistance to blind students. The majority of the blind students responded they asked their sighted friends, for further clarification on lectures, in addition to this, many students agreed that writing in brail and/or copying notes from friends after class were best ways of learning. 

Libraries provide different materials such as tape recorders, brail books, blank cassettes, Braille typewriter and teaching materials recorded on cassettes to blind students. But the number of educational materials is not sufficient to meet the needs of all the blind students; little co-operation with the librarian in reading inked materials was also highlighted by respondents. 

It was also found out that the guidance and counseling office rendered limited service; the entire student respondents affirmed that the extent of consulting guidance and counseling office offered to them was lacking.  

Conclusions: 

Classrooms are difficult to identify and unsuitable to record lecture notes on cassette. In addition, instructors’ methods of teaching were not convenient and instructors were not willing to give special help for blind students. Blind students faced many problems in relation to examination, unless these problems are alleviated, it can be concluded that blind students in the long run will be forced to discontinue their education. 

The study indicates that the special services provided for the blind students focused on financial and material assistance whilst other services like special orientation and counseling are neglected. Even the financial and material assistance were not satisfactory. Therefore, it can only be concluded that the institutions departments do not pay any consideration to provide satisfactory special services to blind students. 

The libraries in the two instructions were not providing adequate services for blind students; with librarians not showing the necessary cooperation to help them. It is from this that unsatisfactory libraries services could have a negative impact on the blind students’ academic performances. 

Services offered by the guidance and counseling office of the institutions were inadequate; it mainly focused on the finance, writing materials and the assignment of readers during examinations for first year students. 

Recommendations: 

As it was observed in the study, blind students faced shortages of finance and educational materials. Therefore to alleviate the inadequacy of financial and material assistance, the institutions should reconsider the allocation of bigger budgets to blind students. Also, the universities should establish a committee composed of service providers for the blind students in their institutions such as the respective student union and concerned bodies (the Ethiopian blind association) to solve any problems. 

To avoid the problem concerning instructors' methods of teaching and exam preparation, special training in the form of seminars, orientations and other talks should be given so that instructors consider the limitations of their blind students i.e. avoiding exam papers which require drawing, labeling etc.  

To minimize the difficulty of identifying classrooms or recording lectures on a tape; mobility training around the class should be given and the institutions administrative body should try to make the classrooms easily identifiable by giving numbers that are readable for blind students and equipping the classrooms with necessary taping materials for the blind students. 

Guidance and counseling offices in the two institutions provide limited services and the blind students also lack the experience of trying to contact the guidance office with their problem. Thus, it is advisable that the office has to extend its service up to giving special orientations and vocational guidance special assistance to blind students so that they can find workable solutions to different types of problems. 

Purpose: 

The major purpose of this study was to explore opportunities and challenges of female children with polio with respect to the educational intervention of Addis Ababa Association of the Physically Handicapped (AAAPH) and its stakeholders, i.e. association members and their families, Ethiopian National Association of the Physically Handicapped (ENAPH), Cheshire Service Ethiopia, and four primary schools. 

Methodology: 

In the study there were a total of 21 participants drawn from the stakeholders. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method and simple random sampling techniques. The qualitative research method was employed for the study, and data was collected using various techniques, i.e. semi-structured interviews, observations, focus group discussions, and document analysis. 

Main findings: 

Some of the major opportunities available to children with polio are: enrollment in primary schools, classroom arrangement, counseling services provided by the school, the existence of special needs departments and disability clubs activities in some schools, the provision of mobility aid and medical treatment by stakeholders, and the advocacy of ENAPH and AAAPH. 

The major challenges that were pointed out in the study are: the absence of assistive technology in schools, a lack of affordable and quality mobility services, the poor economic situation of parents/guardians, inadequate care and support services in the rehabilitation center, limited family participation in the programs, lack of playgrounds and recreational activities both at home and in school, resistance of family to send their children to school, and the absence of accessible and affordable pre-schools in the neighborhood. 

Conclusions: 

The study explores opportunities and challenges to education for females with polio, with respect to the services rendered by the AAAAPH and its stakeholders in their educational interventions. The outcome of the study revealed the major opportunities and challenges of these children. 

Recommendations: 

The partnerships between the AAAAPH and its stakeholders should be strengthened. 

Schools should welcome children with mobility impairment/polio by providing accessible buildings, libraries, playgrounds, leisure places and separate latrines for females. 

The provision of mobility devices should be continued, considering the quality and affordability of the items to be given. 

Female children should be given priority to have their own separate room during orthopedic treatments. 

Awareness about disabilities and the need for education should be promoted, for both the parents and the community. 

Pre-schools should be made available to children with mobility impairment near to villages. 

Parents, guardians and children should participate in school programs, as well as in the overall program of the AAAAPH and its stakeholders. 

Schools should be staffed with special needs education professionals, with associated budgets allotted for salaries, teaching materials, assistive technology and other resources. 

Curriculum development should be designed to meet the needs of children with special needs. 

Design project for socio-economic conditions of families/care takers to help them be self-sufficient than letting them send their children to rehabilitation center. 

Purpose:  

The study attempts to examine the opportunities and challenges of the transition from school to work for deaf people. 

Methodology: 

A qualitative study design was used to analyse the collected data. The data was collected mainly by semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The data for this study was gathered from eleven deaf people and three officials from the Ministry of Social and Labour Affairs (MOSLA) and Ethiopian National Association for the Deaf (ENDA). Additional data was obtained from a team of participants through focus group discussions. The interview respondents and focus group participants were purposely selected from a place located in Addis Ababa. The presentation and analysis of the data was processed using qualitative techniques, such as thematic analysis.  

Main findings: 

The findings of this study indicate the existence of language difficulties, unrealistic parental expectations, non-conducive school environments, attitudinal barriers of employers, unavailability of service providers, lack of support and skills to participate in self-employment and inadequate implementation of the legislative framework of the country. Thus, the study concludes that such factors highly affect the transition from school to work for deaf people. It is therefore that this study recommends that the concerned parties need to give it some more attention and work on this transition being smooth for the students. 

Conclusions: 
 
Most of the participants confirmed that for deaf people, their different needs in using sign language and other modes of communication to understand each other and hearing people hampered their successful transition to the world of work. 

Parents have affection for their deaf children and hope that they are as successful as their hearing children, although parents had unrealistic expectations and aspirations for their sons and daughters in achieving academic success, as well as in making the transition from school to work. This was due to language barriers between parents and their children. A lack of awareness about their children’s abilities and capabilities and a lack of knowledge about the possible work options for their deaf children were also evident. 

As a result of inappropriate education provisions at secondary and post-secondary schools, students face less career maturity and low educational achievement. Therefore, it affected the transition from school to the world of work and made it difficult for deaf people to move on and integrate into society. 

 

Deaf people encounter attitudinal barriers among the society in general but employers in particular and this hampers their career successes after schooling. 

After their schooling, deaf people do not obtain support services like vocational guidance and counseling, training and relevant facilitating and empowering services to help them to get a job. In short, people with disabilities are no longer successful in making the transition to the world of work after schooling. 

Among the deaf, those who lose their hearing at birth or before learning to speak are more disadvantaged than others, both in terms of schooling and during the transition from school to work due to severe language barriers and a lack of experience of the hearing world.

Recommendations: 

Governmental as well as non-governmental organizations that are working on the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities need to do more advocacy work concerning deaf people and their ability to work and their sign language. 

Facilities should be provided to parents, as well as other members of the family, to learn deaf sign language and to develop realistic expectations so as to provide the necessary support to their deaf children. 

Schools should be organized and equipped with the necessary professional skills that can solve the problems of deaf people. 

Create awareness among employers about the rights regarding work and the abilities of deaf people. 

Governmental, as well as non-governmental organizations need to establish independent organized bodies that can provide the necessary services for people with disabilities in their transition from school to work. 

ENAD should improve its overall organizational capacity to provide the necessary services for deaf people after schooling and to work cooperatively with educational institutions, worker associations and business communities. The government needs to formulate a strong legislative framework that can facilitate and make easier the school to work transition for people with disabilities.

Purpose: 

The overall objective of this paper is to identify and analyse the major challenges of deaf education in the current Ethiopian context and indicate any possible solutions.  

Brief Description: 

The universal declarations, policies and strategies, both at international and national levels in regard to education suggest equal opportunity for all children without segregation. But in most cases in developing nations, it is being seen that most children with disabilities are not getting access to education due to various problems. Those children who are able to enjoy the opportunity of education also suffer because of the limited educational system incapability to accommodate children with disabilities. 

Hearing impairment is one of the critical areas in which children suffer more due to the fact that hearing impairment has a visible impact on speech, language, education and social interaction of the students. Regardless of progress in the current situation of deaf education in Ethiopia, the findings of this study indicate that there is incompatibility between the principles of integration/inclusive education and the practice of deaf education within Ethiopia. 

Methodology: 

The qualitative method of the study was utilized by interviewing key informants and focus group discussions. The participants of the study were students with hearing impairment, teachers, experts and representatives of the Ethiopian National Association of the Deaf (ENAD). A total of 6 individual interviewees also took part as key informants in two focus group discussions. The collected data were analyzed and narrated qualitatively. 

Results: 

Along with some achieved progress and positive tendencies towards the overall situation of disability and educational opportunities for children with hearing impairment, almost all the participants agreed that currently the situation of deaf education in Ethiopia is facing a number of challenges that is limiting the participation of disabled school children. These are; 

? Even though the role and full-flaged participation and cooperation of stakeholders such as parents, concerned government offices, schools, concerned non government institutions and the community at large is important for the improvement of deaf education in Ethiopia, the current existing situation is not satisfactory. 
? All participants are convinced in principles concerning the importance of integrating students with hearing impairment into regular classes. But putting this into practice is bringing about challenges that adversely affected the academic performance of those integrated students with hearing impairments, due to the following factors; 

?Lack of modified curriculum with specific procedures and methodologies to teach students with hearing impairment properly. 

?The absence of adequate teachers and relevant staffs trained in special need education and its components mainly in sign language and the psychosocial state of those with hearing impairment. 

?Lack of adequate interpreters in classes, who are capable of understanding and getting across the subject matter being discussed. 

?The absence of knowledge and practice among teachers to organize semi-circle sitting arrangements, which is more convenient in teaching students with hearing impairment (using sign language and lip reading) and the non-existence of a conducive school environment, in general.  

?The parental role in the learning process of deaf education is minimal. 

?Lack of adequate technology or devices to facilitate the learning activities of students with hearing impairment.  

Communicating barriers with peers in and outside the classrooms that hinder the interest of students with hearing impairment to be integrated into a regular class. 

?The fact that the process of integration of deaf students is not being implemented in Ethiopian context based on the findings of applied study. 

?All participants confirmed that the existing sign language is far too limited for vocabularies and ideas to be expressed adequately. 

?Deafness is not easily noticeable in the students with hearing impairment and so not be easily identified in the classroom as eligible for special support from teachers and/or peers. Hence, the techniques on identifying students with hearing impairment complicated the general situation of deaf education in Ethiopia, particularly in schools which implemented the interaction program of those students. 

Recommendations: 

Conducting curriculum modification with provisions of relevant support for students with hearing impairment. 

Promoting a teacher and parent cooperation and aiming to deliver uniform and consecutive support for those students both at home and school. 

Consolidating or upgrading the capacity of the existing sign language through organized and successive research to be conducted by pertinent government institutes in collaboration with ENAD. 

Conducting immense study on the mechanisms or strategies of how integration could be applied and implemented in an Ethiopian context. 

Organizing tutorial classes particularly for students with pre-lingual hearing impairment to enable them keep up with others. 

There are older people who are at risk due to forces beyond their control, e.g. problems of underdevelopment, natural and manmade catastrophes, limited capacity of existing services and facilities such as health centers, housing, low level of social security, etc. These are significant factors that place elderly people into one of the marginalized groups in society and living in poverty as one of the most vulnerable segment of the population. This is indicative of the urgent need required in regard to material, financial, social and the medical protection of older people. Hence, major support and assistance is required from government, NGO and the society. 

Most of the time old age is related to disability, being handicapped, etc. But it is however, important to understand that not all elderly people are disabled but they may suffer from various disease such as diabetics, rheumatism, etc. which is very common among the elderly. When disease reaches its worst stages, it is true that these people may become bed-ridden which disables them from performing or carrying out any kind of activity. 

Although disability is a wide-spread phenomenon among elderly people, it should be noted that the degree/level of the disability varies. There are those who need special care and those who even though are disabled, can contribute to their communities and support their families in some way. Therefore, it is important to seriously consider how many elderly people are active enough to contribute and support other older people. Medical advances indicate that the level of impairment can reduce or be eliminated, thus in the future it could be possible to have more active elderly people. 

The current growth rate of population in developing countries is one of the major concerns for the governments of those countries. On the other hand, while growth rate is being controlled in the developing world, due to an improvement of life expectancy and impairing health services, the number of elderly people is increasing. This is however, an irreversible situation in which it is not possible to reduce the number of elderly people. It is, therefore, important to encourage their productive capacity by involving them in various activities. 

Community support system services rendered for the elderly can be divided in to two: home help and institutional care. Some services of the home help include good neighbor schemes, meals service, day care centers, outings, mutual support, the family and the community as caregivers. List of institutions which provide institutional care in Ethiopia are also mentioned such as Abraha Bata home for the aged, kaliti home for aged, missionaries of charity etc. 

The government’s law in providing care for the elderly has taken various forms such as: formulating national policies on ageing, providing social security (old age pensions), providing social services such as health care residential care, etc, enacting legislation to play the framework for social security benefits, e.g. provident funds for workers in private agencies.