E' curioso e utile a volte vedere come organizzano le cose in casa d'altri.
Ad esempio andiamo giustamente fieri (quando ce ne ricordiamo) dell'organizzazione italiana per l'inserimento in classi normali, con insegnanti di sostegno e programmi individualizzati, degli alunni con disabilità, che fino agli anni ottanta venivano messi in scuole o classi differenziali. In molte parti del mondo, nonché d'Europa, ancor oggi molti bambini e ragazzi con difficoltà di vario tipo vengono esclusi dalle classi normali e messi in classi speciali.
Guardiamo un po' cosa succede in America, dove sembra che nell'ultimo decennio le cose si siano messe diversamente, a differenza che nel resto dell'assistenza sociale e sanitaria.

Sembra però che lì il sistema sia piuttosto diverso che in Italia. In particolare sono le scuole, in USA, che devono farsi carico della valutazione e della definizione del PEI (si chiama alla stessa maniera che in Italia, IEP ), su richiesta dei genitori e utilizzando le risorse della scuola o risorse esterne (medici, psicologi,ecc) senza spese per la famiglia.

Vediamo in particolare, qui sotto, che per avere diritto a fruire di un Progetto educativo individualizzato,l'alunno interessato deve rientrare in una lista di categorie di disabilità, che sono specificamente elencate, fissate per legge (The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1997 (IDEA), Legge che regola il diritto di ricevere servizi speciali e assistenza nelle scuole, servizi conosciuti come special education and related services). Ecco l'elenco americano:

Autismo
Sordità
Sordità'-cecità
Riduzione dell'udito
Ritardo mentale
Disabilità multiple
Menomazioni ortopediche
Altri problemi di salute
Seri disturbi emotivi
Disabilità specifiche di apprendimento
Difficoltà di linguaggio o di parola
Traumi cranici
Menomazioni visive compresa cecità

Dalla lista emerge subito che sono comprese nella stessa organizzazione sia vari tipi di handicap, sensoriali, somatici e psichici, che le difficoltà specifiche di apprendimento, che in Italia sono considerate separatamente e sono state oggetto di una recente Legge.

Un differenza di fondo rispetto all'Italia è che da noi vale la regola dell'inserimento di tutti nelle scuole normali in classi normali accanto agli altri alunni, mentre in America questa è un'opzione possibile accanto ad altre: restano ancora aperte scuole speciali ed istituti dove i ragazzi disabili sono separati dagli altri.
Una differenza che emerge è nelle procedure per attivare i provvedimenti di legge. In America il diritto agli interventi di aiuto è legato alla questione se la disabilità di un dato bambino rientra fra quelle elencate dalla legge, e se quella disabilità inficia le sue possibilità educative.
In Italia non vi è una simile lista di disabilità e il giudizio è demandato a una commissione medico-legale che deve valutare se il bambino richiedente ha diritto. La legge è più aleatoria ed aspetti medici si possono mescolare ad aspetti sociali, anche se questi sarebbero di per sè esclusi. In passato è stato fatto ampio ricorso alla Legge 104 per sovvenzionare interventi scolastici su bambinio con difficoltà prevalentemente sociali ed ambientali, per mancanza di fondi specifici, con effetto però confusivo e inducendo comportamenti ed aspettative inadeguate sia in insegnanti che in operatori socio-sanitari..

* * * *
Da questa fonte prendiamo alcune pagine, organizzate a tipo FAQ, cioè domande/risposte, che descrivono la situazione in USA.

(usare il traduttore se necessario)

"Question: I think my child may need special help in school. What do I do?

Answer :Begin by finding out more about special services and programs for students in your school system. Also find out more about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law gives eligible children with disabilities the right to receive special services and assistance in school. These services are known as special education and related services. They can be important in helping your child at school.

What is special education?
Special education is instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of children who have disabilities. This is done at no cost to the parents. Special education can include special instruction in the classroom, at home, in hospitals or institutions, or in other settings.
Over 5 million children ages 6 through 21 receive special education and related services each year in the United States. Each of these children receives instruction that is specially designed:

a. to meet the child’s unique needs (that result from having a disability); and
b. to help the child learn the information and skills that other children are learning.

This definition of special education comes from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Public Law 105-17.

Who is eligible for special education?

Certain children with disabilities are eligible for special education and related services. The IDEA provides a definition of a “child with a disability.” This law lists 13 different disability categories under which a child may be found eligible for special education and related servicesThese categories are listed in the box below.

According to the IDEA, the disability must affect the child’s educational performance. The question of eligibility, then, comes down to a question of whether the child has a disability that fits in one of IDEA’s 13 categories and whether that disability affects how the child does in school. That is, the disability must cause the child to need special education and related services.

continua:
Q: How do I find out if my child is eligible for special education?

A: The first step is to find out if your child has a disability. To do this, ask the school to evaluate your child. Write a letter to the principal or Superintendant and ask that your child be evaluated for special education. In your letter, give some information about your child's educational problems. (To learn how to write letters, see Chapter 23, Writing Good Letters, Appendix I of Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy.)

The school may think your child needs special education help because he or she may have a disability. If so, then the school must evaluate your child at no cost to you.

However, the school does not have to evaluate your child just because you asked. The school may not think your child has a disability or needs special education. In this case, the school may refuse to evaluate your child. If they refuse, they must let you know their decision in writing, and why they refused to evaluate.

If the school refuses to evaluate your child, there are some steps you can take immediately:

Ask the school system for information about its special education policies, as well as parent rights to disagree with decisions made by the school system. These materials should describe the steps parents can take to challenge a school system’s decision.
Get in touch with your state’s Parent Training and Information (PTI) center.
Your PTI is an excellent resource to help you learn more about special education, your rights and responsibilities, and the law. Your PTI can tell you what steps to take next to find help for your child. To locate a PTI in your state, check our Directory of Parent Training Information Centers. Your PTI will be listed there.

Services to Very Young Children

Infants and toddlers have disabilities, too. Services to very young children are also part of the IDEA. These services are called early intervention services (for children birth through two years) and preschool services (for children ages 3-5). Early intervention services are very important in helping young children develop and learn.

Q: What happens during an evaluation?

Evaluating your child means more than the school just giving your child a test or two. The school must evaluate your child in all the areas where your child may be affected by the possible disability. This may include looking at your child's health, vision, hearing, social and emotional well-being, general intelligence, performance in school, and how well your child communicates with others and uses his or her body.

The evaluation must be complete enough (full and individual) to identify all of your child's needs for special education and related services.

Evaluating your child appropriately will give you and the school a lot of information about your child. This information will help you and the school:

decide if your child has a disability; and
design instruction for your child.
The evaluation process involves several steps. These are listed below.

Reviewing existing information. A group of people, including you, begins by looking at the information the school already has about your child. You may have information about your child you wish to share as well. The group will look at information such as:

your child's scores on tests given in the classroom or to all students in your
child's grade;
the opinions and observations of your child's teachers and other school staff
who know your child; and
your feelings, concerns, and ideas about how your child is doing in school.
Deciding if more information is still needed. The information collected above will help the group decide:

if your son or daughter has a particular type of disability;
how your child is currently doing in school;
whether your child needs special education and related services; and
what your child's educational needs are.
Group members will look at the information they collected above and see if they have enough information to make these decisions. If the group needs more information to make these decisions, the school must collect it.

Collecting more information about your child. If more information about your child is needed, the school will give your child tests or collect the information in other ways. Your informed written permission is required before the school may collect this information. The evaluation group will then have the information it needs to make the types of decisions listed above.

Q: So the school needs my permission to collect this extra information?

A: Yes. Before the school can conduct additional assessments of your child to see if he or she has a disability, the school must ask for your informed written permission. It must also describe how it will conduct this evaluation. This includes describing the tests that will be used and the other ways the school will collect information about your child. After you give your informed written permission, the school may evaluate your child.

Q: How does the school collect this information?

A: The school collects information about your child from many different people and in many different ways. Tests are an important part of an evaluation, but they are only a part. The evaluation should also include:

the observations and opinions of professionals who have worked with your
child;
your child's medical history, when it relates to his or her performance in
school; and
your ideas about your child's school experiences, abilities, needs, and
behavior outside of school, and his or her feelings about school.
The following people will be part of the group evaluating your child:

you, as parents;
at least one regular education teacher, if your child is or may be
participating in the regular education environment;
at least one of your child's special education teachers or service providers;
a school administrator who knows about policies for special education, about
children with disabilities, about the general curriculum (the curriculum used
by nondisabled students), and about available resources;
someone who can interpret the evaluation results and talk about what
instruction may be necessary for your child;
individuals (invited by you or the school) who have knowledge or special
expertise about your child;
your child, if appropriate;
representatives from any other agencies that may be responsible for paying for or providing transition services (if your child is 16 years or, if appropriate, younger and will be planning for life after high school);
and other qualified professionals.
These other qualified professionals may be responsible for collecting specific kinds of information about your child. They may include:

a school psychologist;
an occupational therapist;
a speech and language pathologist (sometimes called a speech therapist);
a physical therapist and/or adaptive physical education therapist or teacher;
a medical specialist; and
others.
Professionals will observe your child. They may give your child written tests or talk personally with your child. They are trying to get a picture of the "whole child." For example, they want to understand:

how well your child speaks and understands language;
how your child thinks and behaves;
how well your child adapts to changes in his or her environment;
how well your child has done academically;
what your child's potential or aptitude (intelligence) is;
how well your child functions in a number of areas, such as moving, thinking, learning, seeing, hearing; and
what job-related and other post-school interests and abilities your child has.

The IDEA gives clear directions about how schools must conduct evaluations. For example, tests and interviews must be given in your child's native language (for example, Spanish) or in the way he or she typically communicates (for example, sign language). The tests must also be given in a way that does not discriminate against your child, because he or she has a disability or is from a different racial or cultural background.

The IDEA states that schools may not place children into special education programs based on the results of only one procedure such as a test. More than one procedure is needed to see where your child may be having difficulty and to identify his or her strengths.

In some cases, schools will be able to conduct a child's entire evaluation within the school. In other cases, schools may not have the staff to do all of the evaluation needed. These schools will have to hire outside people or agencies to do some or all of the evaluation. If your child is evaluated outside of the school, the school must make the arrangements. The school will say in writing exactly what type of testing is to be done. All of these evaluation procedures are done at no cost to parents.

In some cases, once the evaluation has begun, the outside specialist may want to do more testing. If the specialist asks you if it is okay to do more testing, make sure you tell the specialist to contact the school. If the testing is going beyond what the school originally asked for, the school needs to agree to pay for the extra testing.

continua

Q: What does the school do with these evaluation results?

A: The information gathered from the evaluation will be used to make important decisions about your child’s education. All of the information about your child will be used:

to decide if your child is eligible for special education and related services; and

to help you and the school decide what your child needs educationally.
Q: How is a decision made about my child’s eligibility for special education?

A: There are two criteria that must be met for your child to be eligible for special education.

Does your son or daughter have a disability?

Does your child "by reason thereof, need special education and related services"?

(NOTE: See page 128 of Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy for a discussion of these issues)

The decision about eligibility will be made after your child has been evaluated and the evaluations results are complete.

Under the IDEA, parents are included in the group that decides a child’s eligibility for special education services. This group should look at all information gathered during the evaluation and decide if your child meets the definition of a “child with a disability.” This definition is in the IDEA. (See Chapter 15, IDEA: Definitions in Wrightslaw: From Emotions to Advocacy)

If your child is found eligible for special education services under the IDEA, you and the school will work together to design an educational program for your child. You can learn more about this in FAQs: Your Child's IEP [LINK}

Q: Can I get a copy of the school's evaluations on my child?

A: Yes. As the parent, you have the right to receive a copy of the evaluation report on your child and the paperwork about your child’s eligibility for special education and related services.

Q: What are these "disability categories?"

A: The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1997 (IDEA) lists 13 disability categories:

Autism
Deafness
Deaf-blindness
Hearing impairment
Mental retardation
Multiple disabilities
Orthopedic impairment
Other health impairment
Serious emotional disturbance
Specific learning disability
Speech or language impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Visual impairment, including blindness

To find out more about these disabilities and how IDEA defines them, read Chapter1 16 and 17 of FETA and visit the NICHCY site for “General Information about Disabilities.”

Q: What happens if the school says my child is not eligible for special education services?

A: If the group decides that your child is not eligible for special education services, the school system must tell you this in writing and explain why your child has been found “not eligible.”

Under the IDEA, you must also be given information about what you can do if you disagree with this decision.

Read the information the school system gives you. Make sure it includes information about how to challenge the school system’s decision. If that information is not in the materials the school gives you, ask the school for it.

Contact your state’s Parent Training and Information (PTI) center. The PTI can tell you what steps to take next. To find out how to contact your PTI, check the Directory of Parent Training Information Centers in the Getting Help section of this site.