Understanding Disability: Definitions and Educational Concepts
Understanding Disability: Key Definitions
Deficit: A loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function.
Disability: Any restriction or absence (resulting from an impairment) of the ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. Functional impairment – A person who is completely deaf, if provided with the necessary means, would no longer be considered disabled in terms of receiving information. All disabled individuals have a deficit.
Handicap: A disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or a disability, that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal (depending on age, sex, and social and cultural factors) for that individual. (Social consequence). People are often disabled by the limitations of the environment that society provides (e.g., lack of handicapped parking). These individuals have always existed, but in the past, they were often hidden away and not considered (e.g., pejorative terms like “idiots”).
Principles of Inclusive Education
Normalization: Recognizing that people with deficits have the same rights as others of their age and life context.
Integration: The principle through which educational services offer a variety of instructional alternatives so that students with deficits can access the same educational goals as other students, within a determined context.
Sectorization: Providing services to those who need them, where they need them. It aims to address the needs of individuals within their living environment.
Individualization: Ensuring that each individual receives the education required and needed at each stage of their development.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
NEE (Necesidades Educativas Especiales – Special Educational Needs): A deficit affects learning to the point that some or all of the following are needed: special access to the curriculum, a modified curriculum, or tailored learning conditions. This need can be permanent or temporary.
Students with SEN (NESE – Necesidades Específicas de Apoyo Educativo)
- Pupils with SEN (diagnosed).
- Students with specific learning difficulties (e.g., problems with speech or literacy).
- Students with high abilities (gifted).
- Students with late entry into the educational system (e.g., a child from another country who does not know the language).
- Students at a disadvantage/experiencing educational inequality due to social difficulties (marginalization), economic factors, family issues (separations), school history, ethnicity, etc.
A curriculum gap of two courses is a significant indicator.
EE (Educación Especial – Special Education): A combination of curriculum, teaching, support, and learning conditions necessary to meet the student’s needs. It can be implemented individually or with others and may constitute all or part of school life.
Comprehensive School: Focuses on the student and their learning problems to maximize academic and personal development during their schooling. It attends to and respects diversity, recognizing that each student is different and therefore requires an open and flexible curriculum model that allows adaptation of the educational response to the needs of any student, including those with NEE.
Curriculum Adaptations
AC (Adaptaciones Curriculares – Curriculum Adaptations): A response to the needs of students and the fundamental tool for enhancing the participation of any student in the dynamics of the school and classroom. This involves a series of modifications to adapt the educational response to the characteristics of students in a center (e.g., new teaching materials and technical reformulation of the evaluation).
ACI (Adaptaciones Curriculares Individualizadas – Individualized Curriculum Adaptations): An educational package that allows students with SEN to have the curriculum adapted to facilitate their personal and social development in the least restrictive environment (regular classroom).