Like many of you, no doubt, my life had been touched by a child with special needs or, more simply, a special child.

Although I had obviously been aware of the existence of children with special needs, it was only after I had the joy of meeting this special child that I became more aware and sensitive to their needs and, more importantly, to the tremendous contribution they give to all those around them.

First of all, they make you aware of the capacity that you never knew you had to love and care for a child. You are always on the lookout for any way to make their life more fulfilling and happy. In other words, this special child has helped me be less selfish.

This special child has put me in contact with a large number of amazing people who go out of their way to help special children. People who are happy, indeed glad, to have special children in their schools as they see them as a resource and a way of teaching all their pupils that different does not mean less important or less valuable, but just different. I do not necessarily mean schools or associations that are geared towards children with special needs, although these do an outstanding job. I am thinking of organisations such as drama schools – that are as excited as the parents when a special child participates successfully in a performance. There are also, for example, summer schools that make a point of reassuring the parents that the children are welcome and an asset to the school, and that are obviously just as excited at any progress that these children make. The list of positive examples is, happily, a long one.

Close, and sometimes not even particularly close friends, do their best to support these children and their parents. I know of friends who send articles relating to the special child to their parents, continually ask after the child and volunteer to help in any way, or pass on snippets of information that are always valuable, if for no other reason than because they show that people care.

I was present at a school performance recently where the special child I know was participating in the Festive Season play. Every single child had a role, be it small or large, every single child was applauded and every single child was appreciated. I came away knowing that this school had an attitude that rocked! Would it not be amazing if we all treated special children in this way?

Unfortunately, the reverse side of the coin is also apparent. Special children are sometimes treated either by society in general or by the media or even – most distressingly – in some schools as a burden or, to quote a particularly insensitive “educator”, as persons who get in the way of normal children getting their money’s worth from school fees or who are of inconvenience to their carers, or other such insensitive nonsense.

How do we change this attitude? Well, I know of parents who phone or email or send letters to the persons concerned when they come across such attitudes. Good for them! And yes, protesting does work. Attitudes have been changed through these protests. Protesting obviously does not always work but silence has even less of an effect. Special needs are not contagious but ignorance is, so it is important that ignorance is battled each time it rears its ugly head.

In Malta, we pride ourselves on our caring society. Special children are, thankfully, no longer hidden away and parents, educators and Maltese society is moving towards the goal that each special child should have all the tools they need in order to reach their full potential. Special children do respond to programmes aimed at their needs and the change can be dramatic. Some can achieve independence – that is the dream of every parent – and this can only be of benefit to society. The more independent special children are, the more they can contribute to society.

I do not live in a utopian dream. I know that some special children will need care for their entire lives. However, I want to live in a society where they can reach their potential and in a society that respects all of its citizens, even its special ones.

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