Parents must first understand the condition of a child with disability before demanding her rights, a neuropsychologist from the US said.

Prerna Shah, based in New York, spoke to parents, teachers, school principals and counsellors on the need to make children with disabilities part of the “treatment and educational modality”.

“A parent needs to identify the needs of the child and then seek out and advocate for the child’s rights depending on the functionalities. The lower the functioning, the more critical the parent’s role. Each child has a functional capacity and it is the job of the parent to teach the child to advocate for themselves as they grow older,” Shah said at an interactive session on Management of Mental & Developmental Disorder organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Caring Minds, a psychological wellness centre, on Tuesday.

“It starts with the school system, once the child is capable of understanding and aware of his or her strengths and weaknesses…. When looking for a job, too, they have to understand whether it is beyond means,” Shah said.

Psychotherapist and counsellor Minu Budhia said young parents often take more time to accept their child’s condition. “If society is more aware and accepting, parents will accept it more readily and that is why we need to have more awareness and more inclusive spaces,” said Budhia, chairperson of the ICC Task Force on Special Abilities and founder and director of Caring Minds.

Shashi Panja, minister of state (independent charge) for women and child development and social welfare, said “inclusion” begins right from the time the parent introduces the child. “Introduction should be by the child’s name and age, not condition,” she said.

Psychiatrist Manoj Shah said parents of children with disabilities often suffer from a “burnout syndrome.