EDUCATION minister Pilar Alegría has announced a €43 million cash injection for special needs pupils nationwide, reinforcing school facilities to ensure children with 'more complex requirements' can get the best out of their learning.
‘Special needs education’ is an extremely broad spectrum which even includes very high-IQ or intellectually-gifted pupils (photo: YouTube)
It is not clear exactly how this chunk of the 2022 budget will be spent, as the ministry has to work out a strategy, but the spectrum of special needs is extremely broad and specialist.
They range from children with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, severe autism including the non-verbal variety, through to high-functioning autism or Asperger's, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and also 'academic' disorders such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, which can be overcome with specific measures such as having a scribe for exams or submitting oral instead of written assignments.
'Special needs' also covers children who are high-IQ or intellectually-gifted, who need constant stimulation and interesting, challenging tasks to realise their full potential.
It can, additionally, involve pupils with physical needs, such as bodily disabilities, who might require physiotherapists or personal care.
Foreign children who need remedial help to learn Spanish, or deaf children who need sign-language interpreters, would be included in the definition.
Pilar Alegría says a full debate will be opened up, involving regional governments and social organisations, once the State budget has been approved.
Until then, she cannot say precisely which areas will be given the most funding.
Special schools will be included, although research carried out by Sra Alegría's predecessor, Isabel Celaá, shows that of the 707,405 pupils known to have special educational needs during the 2018-2019 academic year, a total of 82.4% of them were in 'mainstream' schools.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com