To discuss the education of children with so-called "mild" disabilities in just two pages is asking a great deal. To draw up a general classification runs counter to something we never tire of repeating: each child is unique, every family is different, no two cases are alike, and no solution works directly for the next family. Each child must be guided according to his or her particular needs.
For this reason, we first considered skipping the topic altogether in general terms.
But then it seemed impossible to leave out this vast and fundamental problem of education from this issue.
We hope that our attempt at a general framework will be corrected by the weight we have given to the individual testimonies that follow. And once again, we welcome your criticism and alternative proposals.
These lines do not claim to be gospel truth. They reflect the fruit of experience and the desire to search.
We present them to you here in schematic form. These ideas are drawn from an article in the journal Épanouir (no. 93, March 1978), published by the French Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities.
Our approach rests on a single premise: the disability exists and must be acknowledged. It exists in the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and in human beings. In most cases, it is irreversible. Therefore, it cannot be ignored or hidden. It must be recognized so that it can be compensated for in the best way possible.
From this realistic view of things comes our concept of what we call specific education—a term we use to avoid the misunderstood phrase "special education."
Why must this education be "specific"? The answer is simple: by definition, a handicapped person does not possess all the intellectual, manual, or sensory resources—or even the emotional ones.
Sometimes the deficiencies are of different kinds and compound each other. It is therefore essential to develop educational methods and define pedagogical principles that allow each child, during his or her childhood and adolescence, the chance to acquire the maximum possible according to his or her capacity.
The educator's first task is to identify the child's fundamental needs.
Certainly, a human being cannot be divided into separate compartments. Yet we must still try to analyze this complex reality in order to direct educational action effectively.
We must ensure, to the greatest extent possible, the development of sensory-motor skills:
- visual sensation and perception
- sound and hearing perception—without which normal language development cannot occur
- tactile and muscular sensation
- smell and taste sensation
We must develop motor abilities:
- gross motor skills
- fine motor or manual skills
All of this involves progress over time and better coordination.
We must also develop intellectual capacities. First and foremost—the foundation of all learning—is the ability to focus attention. Attention supports all other mental faculties. But the capacity for reflection, reasoning, and understanding, even when impaired, can and must be developed from whatever level the child has reached.
We must also recognize the practical importance of memory and everything that relates to the child's sense of time and space.
There is no doubt that all these capacities are closely tied to the emotional and social life of every child.
On the emotional level, we must consider the child's degree of maturity—self-awareness, a sense of personal worth, awareness of how he or she is useful to family and community, and above all, acceptance of the disability. Needs expressed in terms of self-worth, as opposed to feelings of failure, and forms of expression—not only verbal, which is sometimes lacking, but also through the body—are crucial for integration.
On the social level, we must not forget the qualities of autonomy and independence, which are essential for becoming an adult.
In brief, the essential goals of education can be summed up as follows:
Harmonious development of the child as a person, so he or she finds balance and personal meaning, and preparation for as autonomous a life as possible.
Finally—and this is an aspect we must not overlook—such education is only possible and fruitful when carried out in partnership with parents.
Everyone must be convinced that a handicapped child can become a well-adjusted adult, able to live at peace with who he or she is, only if parents and educators join their efforts, their care, and indeed their joy.
Nicole Schulthes, 1979
If children with severe disabilities push us to live against the current of our society, as we said in the previous issue, children with so-called "mild" disabilities ask us to follow the current—but at their own pace, to integrate into this society on certain conditions and within certain limits. For this reason, we have chosen once again to offer individual testimonies, so as not to fall into abstraction or generalization.
Parents and friends now speak. We have kept general commentary to a minimum, making room instead for lived experience.