Assessing the Degree of Special Educational Needs of Pupils and Students with a Disability with the use of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Abstract

The education systems of most (European) countries reflect health impairment of children, pupils and students in term “special educational needs”. This term differs in content in different countries. Mostly it reflects effect of the “cause” or “handicap” onto the conditions of education. This text intends to introduce a model of application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, which was brought to the Czech legislation and education by a team of specialists from Universities, public service and counselling institutions.The core of it is to focus on children, pupils and students with health impairment (it does not solve therefore question of special educational needs of children with social handicap) and also the fact, that the methodology of ICF operates and solves four-level degree (profundity) of these special educational needs. These quoted levels logically match with relevant degree of special needs support pupil or child should or must get. The paper attempts to introduce mechanism of assessing the degree of special educational needs including software possibilities to enter the records gained in the process of diagnostics. The whole system was verified in 2011.