The special education school responds to the specific needs of the students that the ordinary school fails to provide, both at a pedagogical and social level as well as rehabilitative and/or health.
En general, at the'special education school, the ratio of students per classroom is between 6 and 12, and normally, in each classroom there is a tutor and an educator, which facilitates greater dedication and the possibility of programming individualized tasks for each student, thus taking into account the diversity of the classroom.
The rhythm of the special education school is more adapted to the students' abilities and responses, not only in purely pedagogical or curricular tasks, but also in the students' day-to-day life. The organization and structure of the classroom allows the time that each person needs to do the tasks to be respected in a more accurate way, like taking off your jacket, taking things out of your backpack, answering questions, feeding time, going to the toilet, etc.
often also space changes in special education schools are more limited and allow for better access to transitions to other classes. This fact obviously shortens the time it would take to change classrooms, it gives students safety, reducing interfering stimuli in the corridors, such as loud noises or conversations with other professionals. In this way, the students feel more welcome and their confidence increases, generating a better predisposition to capture school learning, sensory learning and the activities of daily life.
The special education school is inclusive: incorporates integrative activities that promote shared schooling whenever possible and the inclusion of students with other characteristics in society, based on their abilities and responding to their needs. When there is shared schooling, the joint work of the special education school and the ordinary school, together with the family and the child's closest environment, is essential to promote the overall development of the student, both in terms of their more curricular learning, and in terms of their emotional and personal development.
The Special Education School in Catalonia
According to the latest Generalitat register, there are 40 public special education centers and 62 private centers in Catalonia. Unfortunately, at present, ordinary schools do not always have the specialists that are necessary to facilitate the real learning of students with difficulties, especially for students with more serious difficulties.
To meet this demand in ordinary schools, the Centers for Special Education Providers of Services and Resources were born (CEEPSIR). Some professionals from these centers travel to ordinary schools to help guide the actions most suited to the educational needs of the students and to develop specific programs to support the students' schooling. However, when these students have complex needs with very specific and intensive characteristics that cannot be covered by CEEPSIRs, Special Education Schools are the best resource as they can provide a comprehensive and intensive service more adjusted to the real needs of the student.
Types of Special Education Schools
Hi ha more generalist special education schools which attend to a great diversity of students with a great heterogeneity of disorders: physical and mental disabilities, with mental health problems... and there are others, much more specific and specialized, that attend to children with a type of difficulties and/or more specific pathologies, mainly mental disabilities and behavioral disorders or students with autism or students with multiple disabilities. An example of a specialized special education school is that of Aspace, which serves students with cerebral palsy, neurodevelopmental pathologies and multiple disabilities, many of them with high complexity.
The Aspace Catalunya Special Education School
Specifically, at the Aspace Special Education School, we have teachers specialized in special education, who have specific tools and resources that facilitate the evolution and development of students who require another type of intervention throughout their schooling. In addition, we have specialist technicians who are part of the multidisciplinary direct care team, such as physiotherapists, speech therapists and psychologists, among others.
The school has the services of theDay hospital of the Fundació which responds by covering the great support needs and high global complexity of the students by providing the necessary specialized attention.
The portfolio of services offered by the Hospital de Dia are:
- specialized medical treatments in psychiatry,
- neurology,
- neuropediatrics,
- psychology,
- physical and rehabilitative medicine,
- drug treatment,
- reeducation,
- physiotherapy i respiratory physiotherapy,
- speech therapy,
- occupational therapy,
- music therapy,
- nursing,
- social work,
- service of resources and technological aids, adaptation to the environment and mobility in the community,
- as well as guidance and attention to families.
From the Aspace Catalunya Foundation we understand this specialized care as a integrated care model in which the three areas of care intervene and share: health, social and educational, basic for the overall development of the person and to guarantee the quality of family life.
It is a model that incorporates a medical and rehabilitative service (pediatricians, rehabilitative doctors, psychiatrists, social worker and nursing service). This fact facilitates the family reconciliation since families can enjoy a service suited to the needs of their children in the same school where they are enrolled.
