People with Special Needs

In Germany, there are five recognised degrees for the extent to which an individual's independence is limited by their physical and cognitive condition.  After proper assessments, you will be fitted in one of these categories and benefit from various services accordingly:

• Minor impairment of self-reliance ("geringe Beeinträchtigungen der Selbstständigkeit")
• Significant impairment of self-reliance ("erhebliche Beeinträchtigungen der Selbstständigkeit")
• Severe impairment of self-reliance ("schwere Beeinträchtigungen der Selbstständigkeit")
• Significantly severe impairment of self-reliance ("schwerste Beeinträchtigungen der Selbstständigkeit")
• Significantly severe impairment of self-reliance with special Requirements for nursing care („schwerste Beeinträchtigungen der Selbstständigkeit mit besonderen Anforderungen an die pflegerische Versorgung“)

• The German state promotes equal participation of people with disabilities in social life. Depending on the degree of disability, your involvement in the working life would be facilitated through protective measures against dismissal or entitlement to child support or additional benefits (that is "integration assistance" ("Eingliederungshilfte") or "Basic protection" specified in the 12th book of the law (SGB XII)). For information about integration into the work force, you can contact the rehabilitation team at the local Labour Agency (REHA-Team, Agentur für Arbeit), visit http://www.einfach-teilhaben.de/or read chapter 5 of the Social Code IX in German language.
• In the Act on the Equality of Individuals with Disabilities (Bundesbehindertengleichstellungsgesetz or BGG), the objective agreements of the official public institutions on accessibility and the prohibition of discrimination against people with disabilities are regulated.
• The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) is also meant to prevent or eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities (along with all other types of discrimination).
• Germany has also ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and, therefore, is committed to promote, protect and ensure the "full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by individuals with disabilities".

These are five main national associations for disability issues in Germany. Here you can find detailed advice about everyday life, law, work, health insurance and various other matters related to the people with special needs (in German).

• Federal Association for the Blind and Partially Sighted ("Deutscher Blinden – und Sehbehindertenverband", DBSV)
• Federal Association for People with Physical and Multiple Disabilities ("Bundesverband für Körper und Mehrfachbehinderte", BVKM)
• Federal Association for the Disabled ("Bundesverband Selbsthilfe Körperbehinderter e. V.", BSK)
• German Association for the Deaf ("Deutscher Gehörlosenbund")
• Federal Association of Lifetime Help for People with Mental Disabilities ("Bundesvereinigung Lebenshilfe für Menschen mit geistiger Behinderung") 

The Youth Department (“Jugendamt”) in each District office (“Bezirksamt”) is responsible for the children with special needs who live in proximity. There you can expect various services like:

• medical diagnostics and advice
• ergotherapy
• logopaedics or therapy aimed at improving verbal and non-verbal communication
• Behavioural therapy
• Family therapy and parent support

Inclusion of the children with special needs to regular schools is promoted in Germany, but in the cases of severe disability, there are special schools customised to match different types of needs children might have, be it mental, social or physical. For more information and advice, you can visit, for example, Intakt.info (Bayern) or www.familienratgeber.de of the Aktion Mensch association. These websites provide support for the parents of children with special needs. For general counselling you can refer to charity organizations like Caritas .

At www.patiententelefon.de you can find a selection of useful links and phone numbers for parents of children with special needs. At www.kindergesundheit-info.de you can also find multi-lingual brochures, for example this German-Arabic brochure for parents of children with special needs.  

It is estimated that ten to fifteen percent of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany have a chronic illness or a disabling condition. The German law indicates that immigrants who have acquired German nationality or a residence status as migrants or refugees (permanent or otherwise) must benefit from the same level of assistance German citizens with disabilities enjoy.

If you are a person with special needs, you have the right to receive special assistance in Germany (and all other European countries), as the EU Directive on the Protection of Refugees (2013/33 / EU) specifies.

For you to receive the necessary assistance as soon as possible, the authorities need to be informed about your condition immediately after your arrival. Since you would be asked to submit medical records and doctor attests at your asylum hearing at BAMF, it is a good idea to visit specialists and obtain the necessary medical certificates that explain your condition as soon as possible.

In each separate case, BAMF would also assess if the corresponding disability can endanger the individual's life in the country of origin. Although cognitive or physical disability is not considered as a sufficient asylum reason by the German law, it could potentially protect the individual from the deportation, should his/her asylum request come to rejection. 

Despite the minimum medical coverage (only acute illnesses and pain-inducing conditions) for asylum seekers in their first 15 months of residence in Germany, German law specifies that extended support should be provided if it is deemed to be indispensable to ensure the individuals’ health. If you are an individual with special needs who is still in this 15-month initial phase, you can refer to these organization for consultation and assistance:

• Migration advice centers near your place of residence. Here you can enter your address and learn the address and contact information of the center responsible for you.
• Welfare associations like the German Coequal Charity Association (or “Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband”), the Workers' Welfare Association (in German: “Arbeiterwohlfahrt”, also “AWO”) or the German Red Cross
• Federal Association of Life Aids for People with Special Needs (“Berliner Zentrum für Selbstbestimmtes Leben behinderte Menschen” or BZSL) or MINA-Living in Diversity (MINA-Leben in Vielfalt e.V.) in Berlin
• ComIn- Help for Refugees and migrants in München
• UMUT e.V. (Hannover)- Association for Supporting Migrants with Disabilities
• Parishes
• Councils of cities and municipalities

As you eventually join the German mandatory insurance scheme and pay monthly membership fees, you would be entitled to the benefits other residents enjoy and your insurance company would cover most of the costs inflicted by medication, e.g. physiotherapy, ergotherapy, speech therapy, massages, auxiliary means like walking aids and alike.

According to the Asylum Seekers Act, People with no legal residence status are entitled to medical treatment in acute or painful conditions. To exercise this right, however, they must turn to the social services office. Many don’t go to that direction, however, as they have a justified fear of deportation. If you find yourself in a similar situation, you can refer to Medibueros.org, an aid organisation which aims to facilitate “Paperless” Asylum seekers’ access to medical services in 36 cities across Germany.

Another option would be Malteser, an international Catholic relief organisation which provides assistance and advice for the individuals who have been left out of mandatory insurance, including non-Germans with no residence permit.