Dear Future President,

My sister is special needs and the options for her are really slim for her once my parents are unable to take care of her. There needs to be more options for families like mine that don’t know what to do.

The care for special needs children is unacceptable in America because when parents are unable to care for their child they need a place where the child will be safe and loved, and the abuse rate in America on special needs children is very high.

When parents are unable to take care of their child, they need a place where the child will be safe and loved because the amount of child group homes we have now is very small. In America, there are many adult group homes for disabled people over eighteen but there are only a few group homes for disabled kids under eighteen that need to be placed in another home away from family. Around ten percent of the world's population is disabled, about 650 million people. 93 million are children, which is 1 out of 20 kids under the age of 14 that have some sort of disability. This is the biggest minority group in the world. For those that their parents cannot take care of them, there are few choices for a disabled child. There needs to be more live-in homes for disabled children. My sister is becoming very tough to handle in my home. There are few options for her. By creating affordable group homes across the country, disabled children can have a safe place to go when they need to be placed away from home.

The abuse rate in America on special needs children is huge and we need to lower it because about 5 children everyday are killed because of child abuse. Children with disabilities are more likely to be abused because they are portrayed as being more vulnerable. Studies have shown that one in three children with some type of disability experience abuse. Still, one in ten children without disabilities are abused in some way. There are many child abuse hotlines in America, but for those that can’t communicate, there needs to be another way. By creating those safe group homes for disabled children, any disabled child that shows signs of abuse can go there and be safe. The abuse in America needs to stop.

Some may argue that the parents should take care of their child until they are eighteen because most neurotypical children stay with their parents until they are eighteen and then move out of the house. In many cases, children with disabilities can stay with parents until they are eighteen. For others, it is just too hard to deal with a child with disabilities. This is why we should have more child group homes for those that cannot manage their child until they are eighteen. For parents, having a disabled child can just be too much to handle, and can be very costly. Some may get an aupair, a live in nanny, to manage their disabled child. Others, try to find a group home that will love their child and can manage him/her.

In conclusion, the care for special needs children needs to be improved. By creating loving and affordable group homes, children can be taken care of when their parents can’t, and the abuse rate on special needs children will go down. Some may say that children should stay with their parents until they are eighteen but in some cases, that is just not possible. We can make America even greater by creating more group home options and lower the abuse rate.

Sincerely,

Katie S.

Citations:

Davis, Leigh A, M.S.S.W., M.P.A. "Resources." The Arc. N.p., 2009. Web. 07 Nov. 2016

Https://www.facebook.com/AmericanSPCC. "Child Abuse Statistics - American SPCC." American SPCC. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

Langtree, Ian. "Disability Statistics: Facts & Statistics on Disabilities & Disability Issues." Disabled World. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

Unicefusa. "Children with Disabilities." UNICEF USA. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.