Social inclusion of people with disabilities and special needs: culture, education and leisure

Abstract

This article has the purpose of discussing issues involved in the understanding and materialization of the social inclusion of people with disabilities. To achieve this, the study of the importance of the mediation of culture, education and leisure in socio-cultural development was elected, focusing on some implications for personal and social development. A critical, bibliographical and documental analysis resulted in discussions concerning the consolidation of social spaces and relationships that favor or limit the social and school inclusion of these people, so as to assist or enlarge their special needs. Important national and international political and normative decisions were discussed. The topics emphasized were values and attitudes which, objectively or subliminally, build and consolidate mechanisms of inclusion or exclusion. The conclusion is that education, culture and leisure are structured spaces with a fundamental power of mediation for the social inclusion of people with disabilities, as well as for any and every subject.