Children with special needs in The Netherlands: impaired hearing, adolescent pregnancy, and myelomeningocele

In the Netherlands, treatment and management of children with special needs is characterized by the absence of financial barriers to care and the existence of a number of specialized services. For hearing-impaired children, there are special audiologic centers and special schools. Adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancy are protected through education and a dedicated system of family planning clinics. Children with multiple handicaps, such as those associated with myelomeningocele, face greater difficulties but still have an array of services available to them at little or no cost. Families are sheltered from excessive expense through social insurance.