Children with disabilities and their families constantly experience barriers to the enjoyment of their basic human rights and to their inclusion in society. Their abilities are overlooked, their capacities are underestimated and their needs are given low priority. Yet, the barriers they face are more frequently as a result of the environment in which they live than as a result of their impairment. While the situation for these children is changing for the better, there are still severe gaps. The social model of disability acknowledges that obstacles to participation in society and its institutions reside in the environment rather than in the individual and that such barriers can and must be prevented, reduced or eliminated.

Environmental obstacles come in many guises and are found at all levels of society. They are reflected in policies and regulations created by governments. Such obstacles may be physical – for example, barriers in public buildings, transportation, and recreational facilities. They may also be attitudinal – widespread underestimation of the abilities and potential of children with disabilities creates a vicious cycle of under expectation, under-achievement and low priority in the society.