Pattern and Types of Disability among Students in Schools for Special Needs in Resource Limited Setting of Africa

Introduction: Out of the 20 million people living with disabilities in Nigeria, 1.3 million are children, and merely 14% of this demographic are currently enrolled in schools. The Schools for special needs are specifically designed, resourced and staffed to cater to children with learning difficulties, physical disabilities, and intellectual problems. To achieve this, matching type of disability with the type of educational resources available at the school of special needs is important. The study assessed the disability types and patterns among students in schools for special needs in north central Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among 500 students attending schools of special needs in the north-central states of Nigeria. The participants were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Quantitative datwereas collected using an interviewer-administered pre-tested questionnaire. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages were used while inferential statistics of Chi-square, Student's t-test and regression analysis were used to test the formulated hypothesis; the level of significance was set at a p-value of less than 0.05 at a 95% confidence level. Results: Hearing impairment was the most commonly occurring disability among the students (330/500, 66.0%) while learning impairment (63/500, 12.6%) was the least occurring disability. Forty-two (8.4%) students had multiple disabilities. More than half 275 (55.5%) of the respondents had been disabled from birth while more than three quarters 397 (79.4%) of the respondents had a family history of disability. Conclusion: In the schools for special needs in North Central Nigeria, students have hearing, visual, learning and multiple disabilities while hearing impairment was the commonest form of disability among the students. Government should establish more schools for special needs. This study will provide learning opportunities for many of the disabled that are denied education.