Society and the disabled.

Society and the Disabled

IN THE LAST 20 YEARS and especially since 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, the integration of disabled young people into the ordinary education system has become widely accepted and is now a prominent goal of educational planning in many countries.

This undeniable change in attitudes and behaviour towards disabled people is playing an essential role in their integration into working life and into the societies to which they belong.

The concept of "handicap' has been greatly modified in the last two decades. It is now distinguished from that of "impairment' or "disability' and is defined as a disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from an impairment or a disability, that limits or prevents the fulfilment of a role that is normal, depending on age, sex, social and cultural factors, for that individual. Handicap is therefore a function of the relationship between disabled persons and their environment. It occurs when they encounter cultural, physical or social barriers which prevent their access to the various systems of society that are available to others. Thus, handicap is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the life of the community on an equal level with others.

This new concept of what it means to be handicapped highlights the relative nature of differences between the performances or status of disabled people and those of others, and draws attention to the...