Systems of care and education of children with sensory disabilities in the first and second Yugoslav state

The research project dealing with past consideration of children with sensory impairments – particularly concerned with children with hearing and visual impairments – in former Yugoslavia is a pioneering one, as it takes an interdisciplinary approach to the problem within disability studies. It covers the entire territory of former socialist Yugoslavia and deals with care and education systems for children with sensory impairments from the historical, sociological and anthropological perspective while knowingly leaving out medical and rehabilitation discourses, which prevail in that area to date.  The research project focuses on two historical periods: a.) the period after the end of World War I, when a common Yugoslav country is formed after the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a continuing system of care and education is set up for children with sensory impairments (1919–1940); b.) the period of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where the concern for children with sensory impairments was an example of the modernisation of national social care and special schooling for children with impairments (1945–1991). In terms of time, the project leaves out the period of World War II, when the system of care and education for children with impairments was often terminated due to the turmoil of war and where special consideration should be placed on the aggressor’s attitude towards children with impairments.  In both periods of history, the social care and education systems for children with sensory impairments applied two key concepts, namely the spatial and social segregation of children (in asylums, nursing homes and later special institutions) and the concept of integration (gradual awareness of the importance of social inclusion in social care and education). Both ideologies often overlapped and represented a precursor for the current concept of human rights of people with impairments, which are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was signed and ratified by Slovenia in 2008. The latter is characterised by the shift towards the concept of independent living, inclusive education and individualised support for normal living along with personal assistance.