Reminding myself of the context for special education
Aren't things like food, health, and such important, too?
Among the many challenges children with disabilities face, I fear that one—food insecurity—is too often shunted aside, disregard, or ignored. Although we may think about food security, which is said to exist when every member of a living group (a family) has enough to eat to remain healthy, as a problem associated with famine and extreme poverty, it isn’t that limited. To be sure, just like any children, our kids certainly suffer in times of times of food shortages and deprivation, maybe even more than others. But they may encounter problems in less desperate times, too.
Studies such as one by Endale and Tolossa (2018) reveal the human, personal toll of food insecurity for individuals with disabilities in Ethiopia. Their informants from focus groups, who had familiar disabilities (e.g., blindness) and chronic insecurity, explained that they limited portions, opted for cheap food, felt powerless, and had to beg.
The situation may seem less dire in developed areas on Earth, but it is still present. In a 26 September 2025 description entitled “Poverty Crisis Leaves People With Intellectual Disability Behind” from Scoop Independent News, Tania Thomas explained the situation in New Zealand:
“Two in five New Zealanders now say they don’t have enough income to meet everyday needs, and the number of people cutting back on food is soaring,” says Tania. “For people with intellectual disability, poverty is not a new reality – it’s a constant one.”
According to Ms. Thomas, whose organization is IHC New Zealand, the problems experienced by children are many
Children with intellectual disability face some of the most extreme impacts:
6.5 times more likely to miss school events due to cost
Almost three times more likely to wear clothes or shoes that are worn out or the wrong size because new ones are unaffordable
Twice as likely to lack internet or a computer for homework.
And we Dear Readers in the US should not feel smug. Food insecurity is a concern for individuals with disabilities right here, perhaps just next door (Heflin et al., 2019; Sonik, et al., 2016).
Frongillo et al. (2024) analyzed 55 studies of food insecurity covering 30 years and many countries. They found that food insecurity was associated with not just untoward outcomes such as stunted growth and health problems, but also poorer school outcomes (IQ, reading and math scores, attendance, dropping out). What is more, one “study reported dose-response relationships between length of time experiencing food insecurity or severity of food insecurity and poor academic performance” in high-income countries. Gallegos and colleagues (2021) found similar results including evidence than transitions from insecure to more secure situations caused substantial and lasting improvements in academic and social-behavioral outcomes.
I remember that Disney cartoons would sometimes show Donald Duck’s nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie in a huddle with their arms (they didn’t have wings) over each other’s shoulders and conspiring to do something. Every now and again, one would pull his head out of the huddle and scan the horizon. We special educators need to emulate that scanning. This is image is a tad different than my memory, but you’ll get the idea.
In my focus on providing evidence-based education for our kids, I must remember to pop my head up every now and again, to step back and look at the big picture, too. Some of our kids (and their families) live lives that are not only constrained by disability, but also by other social-cultural matters. We have to remember to make efforts to address these issues, too.
References
Endale, F., & Tolossa, D. (2018). Food security status of people with disabilities in Selassie Kebele, Hawassa Town, southern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, 13(1), 105–134. https://doi.org/10.4314/ejossah.v13i1.5
Frongillo, E. A., Adebiyi, V. O., & Boncyk, M. (2024). Meta-review of child and adolescent experiences and consequences of food insecurity. Global Food Security, 41, 100767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2024.100767
Gallegos D., Eivers A., Sondergeld P., & Pattinson C. (2021). Food insecurity and child development: A state-of-the-art review. International Journal of Environmental Research in Public Health, 26(18), 8990. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18178990. PMID: 34501578; PMCID: PMC8431639.
Heflin, C. M., Altman, C. E., & Rodriguez, L. L. (2019). Food insecurity and disability in the United States. Disability and Health Journal, 12(2), 220-226.
Lindsay, S., Phonepraseuth, J., & Leo, S. (2025). Experiences and factors affecting poverty among families raising a child with a disability: a scoping review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 47(15), 3822-3840.
Sonik, R., Parish, S. L., Ghosh, S., & Igdalsky, L. (2016). Food insecurity in US households that include children with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 83(1), 42-57.