Shifting notions of disability in Brazil

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to comment on the article by Forrester-Jones and Carvalho and examine some issues on notions of disability in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis of the specialized literature and a critical appraisal of key issues regarding notions of disability in Brazil.

Findings

The authors focus on three issues: what could be characterized as learning disability in Brazil and how social movements, institutions and public policies shape and are shaped by local conceptions of disability; the limits of individual autonomy, independence and freedom in the case of learning disabilities and the social and historical particularities of the Brazilian case; and the role of the APAES and Pestalozzi Society both as a site of social exclusion and, more recently, as a source of expertise in the movement toward the development of “inclusive special education.”

Originality/value

The commentary highlights some of the complexities of the local field of disability in Brazil.

Citation

Rios, C. and Costa Andrada, B. (2016), "Shifting notions of disability in Brazil", Tizard Learning Disability Review, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 75-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLDR-10-2015-0039