Dr Majda Becirevic and Professor Monica Dowling Faculty of Health and Social Care

1. Illusion or Inclusion?The rights of disabled children and their families in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Bulgaria Dr Majda Becirevic and Professor Monica Dowling Faculty of Health and Social Care The Open University, UK

2. The situation for disabled children during communism and transition in B&H and Bulgaria • Collective care and removal of disabled children from families to institutions • Power of professionals/medical model • Social problems were hidden

3. Theories explaining social exclusion of disabled children • The social model of disability • New sociology of childhood • Children’s rights-UN Convention on the Right of the Child (1989) and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)

4. Is mainstream school inclusive education ? A few parents said they sent their children to mainstream school hoping they would behave like ‘healthy children’ Other parents preferred to keep their children in a setting that was only for disabled children ‘In Banja Luka we have preschool for these children and that is a real asset for the town. You have some kind of safety when your child is there’ (Jelena, mother, B&H) Others did not want to separate their child from the family by sending him/her to a special school

5. Inclusive Education? Some parents took the decision to withdraw their children from school altogether, even though they were aware of their right to education, and they were well educated themselves: You can explain about children’s rights, they can understand about children’s rights, you can show every single document on that…they would say fine, good, but they make me feel like my child is not benefiting from this kind of education and it will get worse if he stays in a hostile environment, rather than seeing warm, affectionate kind of treatment. That’s a really tough decision. I had to answer to the child protection agency as to why I kept my soon out of school (Ana, mother, Bulgaria)

6. Inclusive education - views of professionals ‘Policy makers want to close down special schools, but soon they will realise that inclusion does not work and they will need to rebuild special schools again’ (teacher, special school Bulgaria) Professionals in special schools and residential institutions are often left out of inclusion initiatives Professionals in B&H and Bulgaria doubted if inclusion is for all children Where are the specialists for inclusion in special and integrated schools and residential institutions?

7. Day centres and inclusion?

9. Poster from one Bulgarian special school Influence of the EU inclusion agenda

10. Understanding the agenda? • The social model - only 3 informants knew about the social model • Current translation does not reflect philosophy of the social model - connected to welfare rather than empowerment. Is the social model lost in translation? • Has construction of disabled childhood changed?

11. Residential institutions - outside inclusion • - Residential care is complex and problematic and • ‘one of the most harmful legacies of communism’ • (Tobis, 2000, p.1) • Residential care is much more widespread in Bulgaria, with high numbers of institutionalised disabled children • Bulgaria is also known for poor conditions in residential care institutions

12. Zavod Breziljek

13. The importance of family and environment • ‘I am so happy here, as if I was born here. I have my privacy here… I passed this year with very good grades in school, it was impossible before…You know, for me this house is like a haven’. (Mirza, 12 years of age, previously living in an institution, now in a foster home - B&H) • Iva experienced rejection at the mainstream school in her small town in Bulgaria. Her family moved to Sofia to access a day centre and a better resourced mainstream school (Bulgaria, 9 year old girl)

14. Obstacles to inclusion • Construction of disabled childhood has changed little since communist times, especially for children with intellectual disabilities living in care • Professionals who were educated in the old system are now expected to embrace the new philosophy without re-examining their views and approaches in relation to disability

15. Obstacles to inclusion • Proponents of inclusion fail to meaningfully engage with residential institutions and special schools • Services for disabled children can reproduce discrimination unless an inclusive philosophy is adopted

16. Inclusion can be facilitated by: • Deeper examination of cultures, attitudes and appropriateness of international instruments • Resources by government and international NGOs to provide training and development for professionals • Examining inclusion through the experiences of children, parents and professionals in order to understand the changes that are, or are not, taking place

17. Professor Monica DowlingProfessor of Social Work , The Open Universitym.s.dowling@open.ac.ukDr Majda BecirevicResearcher, The Open University m.becirevic@open.ac.uk Faculty of Health and Social CareThe Open UniversityWalton HallMilton KeynesMK7 6AA