Issues regarding the care of children with disabilities debated

On April 23, on the initiative of the member of the RA NA Standing Committee on Labor and Social Affairs Lilit Stepanyan parents of children with disabilities visited the parliament to discuss a number of issues and problems of concern to them.

The Deputy Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Health Care Hripsime Hunanyan, the Committee member Lusine Badalyan, as well as representatives of a number of the RA institutions, NGOs took part in the work discussion.

Touching upon the motives of the meeting, Lilit Stepanyan said that she often visits the day care center for children with cerebral palsy in Hrazdan to get acquainted with the problems. "After the next visit, when we changed the format a little, I realized that there was a need for discussion. That is why we decided to organize a work meeting so that the group that practically implements the decisions made by the legislative and executive bodies could tell you in your presence what problems they are facing, how much these services help or, in general, have no effect," Lilit Stepanyan said, addressing the representatives of the institutions.

The mothers of the children presented to the participants of the meeting the various problems of their children with varying degrees of disabilities, the difficulties associated with their care, touched upon the existing problems and legislative gaps in the field, and presented proposals that, according to them, if adopted, could make the lives of both parents and children a little easier.

The presented issues were diverse: they related to social, health, and educational spheres. Among other issues, the parents referred to the service of a personal assistant and issues related to the guardianship of a child with a disability, proposing to have a legislative regulation that would allow the parent caring for the child to become the child's guardian, receiving benefits and work experience. It was noted that such regulations operate in a number of countries, in particular, in Russia and Georgia.

The issues raised by the parents concerned the inadequacy of rehabilitation therapies for children with disabilities, the need to review the homeschooling system, the inclusion of children with mental health problems in educational institutions, the amount of funding for daycare institutions, as well as other issues.

The representatives of the executive body and the MPs answered the parents' questions and gave clarifications.

Summarizing the discussion, Lilit Stepanyan noted that the presented problems were recorded, and if there is need for legislative amendments, then they will be initiated.