Youth and disability

Worldwide, there are between 180 and 220 million youth with disabilities. Eighty percent of disabled youth live in developing countries, and therefore have even less access to education, health care, jobs and general rights Disabilities include physical, mental disabilities or mental illness. Many youth live normal and stable lives, however those with disabilities may experience more obstacles than those without due to potential limitations, those created by physical limitations and social limitations.

Before the 1970s, there were no major federal laws that protected the civil or constitutional rights of Americans with disabilities. The civil rights movement started off the "disability rights movement", which focused on social and therapeutic services for those with disabilities, and in 1975 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was created. This law establishes the rights of children with disabilities to attend public schools, to receive services designed to meet their needs free of charge, and to receive instruction in regular education classrooms alongside non-disabled children.

The IDEA also authorized federal grants to states to cover some of the costs of special education services for youth aged three to twenty-one. Additions to the law focused on improving access to general education and curriculum (inclusion programs), developing appropriate assessments, implementing appropriate disciplinary procedures and alternative placements, and creating transition services for youth leaving the education system. This transition can be difficult for youth with a disability if it is too sudden- many of these youth struggle with the independence that graduation allows. In 2004, additions were made to promote better accountability for results, enhance parent involvement, encourage the use of proven practices and materials (increase research on current practices), and reduce administrative burdens for teachers, states and local school districts. Before 1975, only one in five children with identified disabilities attended public school, and many states explicitly excluded children with certain types of disabilities from school; these included children who were blind or deaf, and children labeled "emotionally disturbed" or "mentally retarded".

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