The Social Exclusion of Disabled Children in Russia and the CIS Michael Rasell, University of Birmingham

Introduction Based on study of impact of social policy on everyday life and well-being of disabled people Qualitative methodology looking at experiences of people with physical disabilities ‘There are no disabled in the USSR’ Medical model of disability dominated practice Soviet architecture highly inaccessible 620,342 disabled children in Russia

Child disability and poverty Two-way relationship Disability associated with incomplete families Care responsibilities affect employment options Poorer families send children to institutions No system of respite or temporary care 2008: monthly carers allowance increased to €33 Benefits for parents often highly restricted Regardless of deprivation, all disabled children face social barriers to inclusion

Education Strong Soviet legacy of ‘defectology’ 28% disabled children live in state institutions Choice of home schooling or separate schools Incomplete curricula and poor quality teaching Infrastructure, resource and ideological barriers to educational integration in schools Patchy provision of tertiary and higher education Little focus on life skills and independent living

CEE and CIS context Legacies of Soviet ‘defectology’ remain strong Integration at school not classroom level Institutionalisation continues Ethnic dimensions to disability in CE Europe Low level of services in poorer CIS Conflict in Caucasus and Central Asia Rights-based approaches hard to implement due to lack political and cultural fit

Policy Issues UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities now signed; Art. 7 concerns children, Art 24. education Disability not a health issue, but socially constructed Money can improve well-being, but does not facilitate the social inclusion of disabled children Physical accessibility is a key part of social integration Development of local NGO capacities Re-training of health, social and education staff Steps to educational integration: partnerships, joint activities, part-time attendance, individual assistants

Michael Rasell, University of Birmingham The Social Exclusion of Disabled Children in Russia and the CIS