“What does the child have?” – 6 questions about the meaning of a child’s diagnosis

“What does the child have?” – 6 questions about the meaning of a child’s diagnosis

“We still don’t know what the child has…”, told me a teacher about the difficulties she was experiencing with a child who demonstrated behavioural problems. That sentence kept me wondering. Gathering information about what the child “has”, i.e., trying to know “his/her” diagnosis, underlies a genuine concern. But are those difficulties due primarily to something he/she “has”? To what extent knowing the diagnosis is essential to plan interventions at home, daycare or kindergarten?

Moving on from special education… The Portuguese new legislation on inclusive education

Moving on from special education… The Portuguese new legislation on inclusive education

How should we organize inclusive education? This is a key question in many European countries as they move from special to inclusive education. We would like to introduce the new Portuguese law to you as an innovative and inspiring framework, and describe some motivations behind the law.