Some children have health problems that affect them psychologically as much as physically. Though not suffering outwardly from mental illnesses, these children find themselves ostracized from society because they are hard of hearing, for example, overweight, or suffering from an illness that few people are either aware of or understand. High self-esteem and a healthy social environment promote confidence in a child and are therefore, very important indicators for success. Children's opinion of themselves is very important as long as it is balanced and honest. Dr. Hessa Al-Sehali, a professor of Psychology at the Jeddah Education College, told Saudi Gazette that self-belief is vital for children; whenever they accept and trust themselves, they will lead ‘natural' lives. There are many creative and talented physically disabled children who are successful because they accept themselves and work hard to further improve their abilities and skills. “Encouragement is very important for such children when they do well although they should not be rebuked in equal measure if they fail,” Dr. Al-Sehali said. She added that the environment at school as well as in the home share the responsibility of giving children ‘natural' lives as well as contributing to their potential for success and innovation. Sabah Al-Ghamdi is an elementary social specialist in Jeddah who told Saudi Gazette that family plays the main role in elevating a child's self-esteem. “The family must understand the child and support him or her both physically and psychologically because children feel alienated and ‘wronged' otherwise,” she remarked. One of Dr. Ghamdi's patients, Rahaf Hamdan, was a 10-year-old elementary school student in Jeddah who has transformed from an isolated child to one of the most active and social kids at school and the root of this transformation has been support from her family and school. In her first year at school, for instance, Rahaf had no friends, was “scared” of going in to school each day, didn't respond to her teacher and ended up failing her exams that year. Her mother, Haya, discovered that Rahaf was hard of hearing and that this had resulted in her weak personality and poor academic result. Haya ensured that Rahaf received both physical and psychological treatment to overcome the difficulties she had been facing. Nobody in the family, for example, was allowed to laugh at Rahaf's expense if she couldn't hear or respond to something and she was always praised and thanked in front of the entire family. Al-Ghamdi asserted that treatment should always be presented to such children by their family though the school can also play an important role whether on an educational or social basis. She added that Rahaf's teacher let her sit in the front, involved her in discussions and question-answer sessions and allowed her to participate in competitions and in the school radio. Teachers must also learn to be very strict with other students who poke fun at such children and ‘recruit' a number of more sympathetic students to include the isolated child in a group. Another success story is of Nuha Abdullah, a 17-year-old girl who has a physical disability with respect to her legs but has managed to complete school. The reason? Her parents never differentiated between her and her sisters. On the other hand, there are families who feel shame at a child's disability and try to hide him or her from the rest of society. Fatima Mubarak is a 21-year-old girl who had to leave school because of the difficulties she faced from her school and family. As someone with a stuttering disorder, she was unable to speak in class because of the fear that her classmates would laugh at her. What made matters worse was that her brothers would imitate her as a joke and the whole family would laugh at it without any intervention from her mother. A fundamental concept here is that people see an image of themselves through how others perceive them; if they find respect and love, they will learn to accept themselves. “Dealing badly with children will cause self-recrimination, loss of self-esteem, conflict, hesitation, and more psychological disorders which may change to depression or physical diseases,” explained Dr. Al
