 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Theme : Children with DisabilitiesChildren with disabilities: issues and trends in the development of policies and programmes in the Latin American region, Panamá, 16-20 October 2000 |
| Contents |
BackgroundIncreased concern in the international community with regard to the situation of children with disabilities has been reflected in resolutions adopted recently by the United Nations. One of these is Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/20 of 21 July 1997, entitled “Children with disabilities”, which recognizes the need to direct special attention towards children with disabilities, their families and caretakers, and urges Governments and the Secretary-General to give full attention to the rights, special needs and welfare of children with disabilities. The need to address issues related to children with disabilities was further reiterated as a priority in General Assembly resolutions 56/115 of 19 December 2001, and 54/121 of 17 December 1999, and Economic and Social Council resolutions 2000/10 of 27 July 2000 and 2002/26 of 23 July 2003. At the regional level, members of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities",[1] which provides broad policy guidance on the prevention and elimination of all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, and the promotion of their full integration in society. In October 2000, the Ministry of Youth, Women, Children and the Family of Panama, and the Panamanian Institute of Special Education, with the support of the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Disability and the Division for Social Policy and Development of the United Nations Secretariat organized a seminar on children with disabilities: issues and trends in the development of policies and programmes in the Latin American region. The seminar provided a forum for exchange on (1) emerging issues and trends in policies and strategies concerning children with disabilities in the region; (2) salient characteristics of innovative programme and project initiatives; and (3) issues in disability-sensitive data collection and statistics, development policy analysis and planning, and evaluation. The seminar brought together representatives of a number of Governments in the Latin American Region, experts on policy and programme issues concerning children with disabilities, and representatives of the academic community and the non-governmental sector. Thirteen countries of the region were represented. A declaration entitled "Disability: a human rights issue" was adopted at the regional seminar. The Tenth Ibero-American Summit, which was held in Panama from 17 to 18 November 2000, focused on children and youth as priority themes, and recognized the contributions made by the regional seminar on children with disabilities and the newly adopted declaration on disability for the development of policies and programmes in the Latin American region.[2] Seminar OverviewThe seminar presented a general overview of trends in the development of policies and programmes for children with disabilities. It focused on the following five themes: indicators and statistics; norms and human rights; legislation; special and integrated education; and family and children with disabilities. Some of the issues that emerged in the seminar include the following:
Some of the presentations made within the above priority themes are summarized below. Indicators and statisticsTrends in the development of policies and programmes and indicatorsIn his presentation, Juan Manuel Jiménez, from the statistics programme of the Inter-American Children's Institute, Uruguay, explored some of the factors that make it difficult to develop indicators for follow up on public policies on disability, and proposed a possible alternative based on a management by consensus model. Among the causes he identified were such new paradigms as inclusion and human rights. He argued that indicators are not neutral because they respond to a particular theory or policy and made reference to available resources for the development of disability indicators like the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health prepared by the World Health Organization, and the Manual for the Development of Statistical Information for Disability Programmes and Policies, prepared by the Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat. According to the presenter, national commissions and leading entities in the field of disability must strengthen their infrastructures and technical capabilities for the production and use of indicators based on a strategy of management by consensus. The latter was defined as one in which the actors agree together on concrete actions; develop clear and shared rules; and evaluate jointly the implementation of the actions according to the established rules. This style of management is a way of getting things done with the participation of complementary input that assumes, respects and transcends differences. Diagnosis and development of the situation of children with disabilities and special education needsChilina León de Viloria, from the Andrés Bello Catholic University of Venezuela, argued that it is time to take the same approach towards children with and without disabilities and that the challenges of integral development and social integration are the same for both. She reviewed the concept of integral child development. This approach helps highlight similarities more than differences in the constructive process of development of every child within his/her cultural reality. The paper surveyed some achievements in the field of special education in the twentieth century and some of the challenges for the twenty-first century. In addition, it introduced a new alternative for action that can also be used to organize different conceptual approaches for the different levels of diagnosis of children with special education needs. According to this alternative, the child should interact with his/her family, school and community environment, and the quality of instruction that the child receives is particularly important. These interactions determine a broad array of developmental behaviors. The paper concluded with a brief overview of special education in Venezuela. Norms and human rightsProgramme of disability in ColombiaDiva Sandoval of the Office of the Presidency of Colombia presented an overview of the disability programme in Colombia, focusing on the National Plan of Attention to Persons with Disabilities, 1998-2002. The presentation started with a review of existing national legal frameworks relevant to disability. The National Plan is coordinated by the National Consultative Committee on Disability and sectoral liaison groups. At the territorial level, it is coordinated by territorial committees for social policy and the territorial networks of attention to persons with disabilities. The plan gives a new focus to public policy that leads to real participation in decision-making processes. This new approach also leads to a new vision of the human being in relation to rights; action that centers around the family as a basis of the social structure; committed and responsible participation of social forces for collaborative efforts around a common purpose; a programme based on demand and the ability of people to invest in their own development; and intersectoral efforts towards achieving integrated results. Specific tasks related to the plan center around prevention, rehabilitation and equalization of educational, productive, cultural and participatory opportunities. The goal is to generate spaces and conditions to facilitate the participation of persons with disabilities in the construction of a society for all, while at the same time identifying and removing obstacles that persons with disabilities face to access and interact with the social environment. To conclude, the speaker made reference to some actions that are being taken to further the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities and to confront some of the obstacles encountered. Disability and social legitimizationFausto Peréz, Director of the unit on disability of the Ministry of Youth, Women, Children and the Family of Panama, started his presentation by noting that a series of laws, decrees and rules related to disability have been adopted as part of the policy of States, aiming to incorporate persons with disabilities in an active way. He added that in spite of the achievement that this represents, there have been minimal improvements in the living conditions of persons with disabilities. A discussion of why these norms have not been fully implemented, including the traditional way in which norms are institutionalized, follows below. According to the speaker, the main obstacle to the implementation of established norms is a deeply rooted individual and collective value system that breeds attitudes of discrimination, aggression and undervaluing. He proposed a “cultural renovation” through which new values and ways of thinking can overcome traditional ones. The speaker mentioned three basic conditions for cultural renovation: a group of people with similar experiences, but different from those of the rest of society; the existence of a subculture; and the development of effective mechanisms of social internalization. In connection with this, he pointed out that these three conditions are often present in the case of disability. It is necessary not only to have formal links among different organizations of persons with disabilities, but to develop real processes of empathy among people with different disabilities. LegislationOrganization of legislative policiesLourdes Barrera de Morales, Executive Director of the National Council of Disabled People (CONAIPD) in El Salvador, gave an overview of the national policy for the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities in her country. She indicated that the Council was the principal and coordinating entity for the national policy, including actions developed by different sectors that aim to benefit persons with disabilities. The national policy for the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities was developed with input and support from representatives of various national and international organizations that deal with disability and human rights, or represent persons with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities. Although the traditional focus has predominantly been to offer medical and assistance, the new national policy promotes partnership among all sectors of society and incorporates prevention, timely attention, integral rehabilitation and equalization of opportunities to promote the participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life. The law for the equalization of opportunities of persons with disabilities has six chapters that address (a) the objectives of the law, rights and social awareness; (b) integral rehabilitation; (c) accessibility; (d) education; (e) integration in the labour market; and (f) general provisions. It establishes a regime for the equalization of opportunities for persons with physical, mental, psychological and sensory disabilities, and explicitly provides for the rights of persons with disabilities.
Special and integrated educationEducation for the deaf and social skills education: a methodological look from education researchMonica Elisabeth Castilla, from the National University of Cuyo in Argentina, presented the results of her research paper entitled "The influence of the school of the deaf in acquiring and developing social skills". She noted that the educational model that predominates in the school of the deaf where she did her research has been and continues to be the medical-clinical model, which works on deficits of the students. From this perspective, work in the classroom centers around the individual and does not favor work in groups, which is an important element for acquiring and developing general skills for interaction in pairs and with teachers. Based on her observations, she indicated that schools must do more than contribute to the acquisition and development of social skills. Furthermore, Ms. Castilla’s research highlighted the value deaf students placed on communicating with one another and with the non-deaf world, as well as recognized the need to use different language codes depending on the group with whom they interacted. She concluded by saying that it was hoped that major recognition be given to the deaf and greater awareness raised among teachers about their role in this process, thus contributing to the full integration of the deaf population. Inclusive education and school integrationFloridalma Alva Meza, from the Department of Special Education, Ministry of Education of Guatemala, gave an overview of the actions that were being taken by the national Government in the area of integrated schools. She indicated that some of the objectives of the Department were to create national programmes directed to the population with special educational needs; promote preventive actions; identify children with special needs and provide integral attention to them; and ensure that national and international laws and agreements adopted by the country were implemented. Services provided by the department are directed to populations with partial or temporary special educational needs. Through inter-institutional coordination, students are referred to other institutions for specific exams and orientation when service programmes are unable to provide the needed attention. Specific programmes include parent education, educational psychology training for teachers and special education for hospitalized children. A relatively new and innovative project that responds to diversity in education is the Project for School Integration. The project is a process through which children with special educational needs are offered conditions and opportunities equal to those of the rest of the population for integration into the regular educational system. Specifically, the project promotes educational opportunities within the regular school system for children with special educational needs; provides attention in public schools for children in both pre-primary and primary levels with special educational needs; and creates awareness and sensitizes the education community. The familyFamily and (dis)ability: the family as a resource and agent of changeAccording to Enrique Norambuena Aguilar, national coordinator of the Associative Movement on Disability of Chile, a non-governmental organization, the family must be considered as a resource and must participate actively in the definition, implementation, supervision and evaluation of relevant public policies and intervention strategies within the national environment. The family must count on the necessary support to face its situation, including respect, solidarity, pertinent information, training and access to quality services. The speaker also looked at the issue of disability from a human rights perspective. Drawing on specific issues to illustrate his argument, school integration was discussed as significant for two reasons. First, the right to education becomes a reality for all; and second, school integration is not only viable, but a necessary instrument of personal and social development linked to a society for all. Accordingly, equality of opportunity becomes tangible and education becomes a mechanism of inclusion. Demonstrating respect towards persons with disabilities will lead to quality solutions based on shared responsibilities, commitments and objectives. The home and school were discussed as strategic allies in achieving integration of children with disabilities into regular educational systems. He added that it was fundamental to start seeing the family as a resource; therefore, it would be necessary to understand and train the family, and even give it a role in defining the educational project, since it is time to build a bridge between the family and the school. According to the speaker, families are often the main barrier to the development and autonomy of their children, especially in the case of mental disabilities. Their own fears and grief are major obstacles. However, families are changing by learning to take risks and investing in life, and must continue to do so. The family as an agent of social change can fight for more and better services and benefits. To this end, the State must be open to participation and make available stable financial and economic resources for representative organizations. More information about the seminar, including background papers, is available in Spanish at http://www.worldenable.net/children/Default.htm. The Panama Declaration: Disability as a human rights issueOn the basis of an intensive programme of substantive sessions and group discussions, seminar participants formulated the Panama Declaration on disability as a human rights issue, which provides a framework for policy options, strategies and practical action to promote equalization of opportunities and a society for all. The declaration adopted by the seminar focused on existing international and regional instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, and the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, and recognized the achievements to date in implementing these international norms and standards. The seminar also recognized new dimensions in disability policies and challenges that Governments and society face and urged the heads of State to adopt new measures that fully guarantee the rights of children with disabilities in the region. Those measures may include policies that integrate and encourage the participation of persons with disabilities in the design of public policies, and the provision of quality social services with universal coverage in all spheres of life, ensuring respect for diversity in society. To this end the seminar proposed that actions should be taken to:
More specifically, the seminar urged the Heads of State participating in the Tenth Ibero-American Summit to promote the following concrete proposals to further the actions proposed above:
Notes: [1] Organization of American States resolution AG/RES.1608 (XXIX-0/99) of 7 June 1999. [2] Panama Declaration, “United for children and adolescents, the basis of justice and equity in the new millenium” (A/55/718, annex I, para. 36). |