Pedagogy of Body and Education of the Disabled Persons: Some Speculations

Pedagogy of Body and Education of the Disabled Persons: Some Speculations Introduction The first goal of this essay is to highlight an issue which pedagogy should not forget: the centrality of the body in the educational process. The more the educational process addresses young or weak individuals (as in the case of disabled people), the truer this statement is. Therefore we introduce here some considerations resulting from real educational experiences with autistic individuals; we take our moves from some interpretative keys based essentially on body communication and movement. The Pedagogy of the body assists us in catching the educational force of such tools; at the same time, it defines both the methods and the considerations deriving from them. These are two dimensions which must not be separated, given the matter-of-factness that the theme of the body requires. Education through the body. To take care of the body also means to pay attention and be ready to take care of its needs; as a matter of fact, it is a common experience that, in case of difficulties related to a fundamental physiological need, we can only organise actions addressing it. For example, in early childhood children experience at least two needs which are strictly connected to the body and which cannot be forgotten: the first one concerns the need to be taken care (holding), the second one the need to move. Body and diverse-ability. The body is the privileged mediator subject through which we live and experience the World; it is the fundamental point to establish a pedagogy based not only on a linguistic code but also on a sign language which is not "the simple translation into gestures of what a person would say with the voice; it is not a realistic mimic code, but it has a symbolic elaboration which includes a specific structure of thoughts”. TEACCH cognitive-behavioural methodology is among the most credited ones to help and educate individuals affected by autism; it aims to change the environment so that the behaviour of the individuals affected by Pervasive Developmental Disorders can be adapted to the society in which they live. TEACCH method has the following features: • Physical structuring of space; • Time organisation; • Working schemes; • Reduced distractive and dispersive inputs from the environment; • Visualisation, explanation and progressive difficulty of the proposed tasks; • Alternative communication systems. Body as mediator By having the opportunity of freely express themselves through the body, children affected by autism will take advantage of this additional way of communication with the educator (be it a teacher, or a school mate) who, in turn, will have another contact key for interaction. Therefore the body is seen and taken as a symbol key to establish a communication with autistic children, and especially with low-functioning autistic children who, in the majority of cases, do not speak and, for this reason, need different kinds of communication.