Attention to Students with Severe Disabilities: Status and Trends
Status and Trends of Attention to Students with Severe Disabilities
Comparison categories for analyzing the reality in several countries: Concept of Special Educational Needs (SEN), identification of deficits, percentage of students enrolled in Special Education colleges, basic regulatory framework, responsibility for education and service delivery models, forms of schooling, status and functions of special schools, curriculum, human resources, family role, and funding of services.
Design of Special Educational Needs (SEN)
Some countries have expanded the SEN concept, explaining key nuances. In Italy, a ‘handicapped person’ has a physical, mental, or sensory impairment (stabilized or progressive) causing learning, relationship, or work integration difficulties, leading to social disadvantage or marginalization. Portugal more explicitly relates deficits to learning difficulties, extending to speech/language disturbances, severe personality disturbances, or serious behavioral and health problems. SEN distinguishes between permanent and other special needs, such as those arising from the interaction between environmental factors and a student’s functioning level. Any limitations these students may have are slight. This incorporates the fundamental tone of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), noting that disability concerns a person’s functioning in society, depending on both deficits and environmental accessibility.
Identification of Deficits
Identification services, created in 2000, are linked to health and/or social services and have a multidisciplinary composition. They operate locally, regionally, or district-wide, serving children from 0-5 years to prevent, detect, and treat early. Parental involvement in diagnosis is essential.
Percentage of Students Enrolled in Special Schools
The incidence of severe and permanent disability has declined steadily in the EU, stabilizing at about 0.5% of the population. However, prevalence has increased due to increased life expectancy, with a higher incidence in men (64.2%) than women (35.8%). SEN pupils in the EU represent 5.5% of total enrollment. Those with severe and permanent disabilities enrolled in special schools constitute 2.187%. In six observed countries, 5.7% are treated for SEN and 0.53% for severe disabilities.
Setting Basic Policy
Developed in the 1990s, the six countries show clear progress towards inclusive school legislation, supporting international declarations. This legislation recognizes the right to equal education within mainstream schools and finalizes organizational aspects, from prevention and detection of disability to personal autonomy plans and transition to working life. Common aspects include:
- Conversion of special schools into resource centers
- Ranking of various forms of schooling
- Location of centers or expert knowledge near mainstream schools
- Provision of tailored personal and material resources
- Recognition and regulation of parental participation rights
- Designing individualized curriculum, methodologies, and socialization
- Decentralization of educational organization, institutional coordination, and staff
- Shift towards a decentralized financing system
- Guidelines for inclusive secondary education
Responsibility for Schooling and Services
The responsibility for designing policies and delivering services for students with severe and permanent SEN falls under the Ministry of Education and Culture (or its equivalent). Recently, there has been a trend towards decentralization of responsibilities. While traditionally the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Education, it is now often shared with Social Affairs and Health ministries for certain services. This decentralization sometimes generates discrepancies and contradictions among institutions regarding criteria, student information, resources, and grants, making responsibility unclear.