Autism and Special Education Policy in Mexico
Autism and Special Education Policy in Mexico
John P. Tuman, Danielle Roth-Johnson, Dana Lee Baker, and Jennifer Vecchio In recent years, a great deal of scholarship has examined the adequacy of special education and other support services for children with disabilities in the U.S. and in other industrialized states. By contrast, there has been comparatively little study of services for children with disabilities in developing countries. In this paper, we attempt to bridge this gap in the literature. Focusing on the case of Mexico, we examine the provision of special education and other support services, and the availability and cost of private services. The focus of the analysis is on children with autism. Drawing upon a theoretical approach that combines modern political economy and comparative institutionalism, we also develop a tentative explanation of the politics of policymaking among parents and other stakeholders in the autism advocacy community. INTRODUCTION Since the early 1980s, governments in Latin America have implemented a wide range of social and health policy reforms. In the aftermath of the 1982 debt crisis, policy-makers in the region came under strong pressures from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to reduce social spending and to redesign social and health programs to be compatible with neoliberal economic reforms.1 In addition to pressures emanating from international economic organizations, transnational policy networks and politically insulated “change teams” were also key to promoting social sector reforms.2 Regardless of whether the origins of policy change were located at the systemic or domestic levels, by the mid-1990s it was plain to most observers that social policies had been radically altered throughout Latin America. Social sector reforms in Latin America have had a profound influence on education policies in the region. A rich policy literature has documented effects of various reforms to regular education,
John P. Tuman, Danielle Roth-Johnson, Dana Lee Baker, and Jennifer Vecchio In recent years, a great deal of scholarship has examined the adequacy of special education and other support services for children with disabilities in the U.S. and in other industrialized states. By contrast, there has been comparatively little study of services for children with disabilities in developing countries. In this paper, we attempt to bridge this gap in the literature. Focusing on the case of Mexico, we examine the provision of special education and other support services, and the availability and cost of private services. The focus of the analysis is on children with autism. Drawing upon a theoretical approach that combines modern political economy and comparative institutionalism, we also develop a tentative explanation of the politics of policymaking among parents and other stakeholders in the autism advocacy community. INTRODUCTION Since the early 1980s, governments in Latin America have implemented a wide range of social and health policy reforms. In the aftermath of the 1982 debt crisis, policy-makers in the region came under strong pressures from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to reduce social spending and to redesign social and health programs to be compatible with neoliberal economic reforms.1 In addition to pressures emanating from international economic organizations, transnational policy networks and politically insulated “change teams” were also key to promoting social sector reforms.2 Regardless of whether the origins of policy change were located at the systemic or domestic levels, by the mid-1990s it was plain to most observers that social policies had been radically altered throughout Latin America. Social sector reforms in Latin America have had a profound influence on education policies in the region. A rich policy literature has documented effects of various reforms to regular education,