Health and Education: Seeking an Explicit Place on the Agenda

Abstract

Professionals in the medical, therapeutic, and education communities describe the urgent need for increased attention to services for children with disabilities. Regarding medical and therapeutic services, they argue that lack of awareness leads to low priority on disability issues and results in disturbing discrepancies between public and private health care related to disabilities. Regarding education, they highlight unpredictable government planning for hiring of special education teachers and express serious doubts about the possibility of inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools, given the lack of personnel resources and curriculum adaptations. They also discuss the role played by a “charity model” that relies on the corporate sector, volunteerism, and non-governmental organizations to fill the gaps left by a public education system that provides no mandate for children with disabilities.