淺談瑞典身心障礙相關之福利服務與教育

Disability Services and Education in Sweden

透過瑞典障礙政策及障礙相關研究，以及對高中教師、身心障礙者家長、障礙者日間活動據點工作人員及障礙研究學者之訪談，輔以我在瑞典的非正式觀察，本文旨在引介瑞典提供障礙者之福利服務與教育，並描述與障礙者工作之專業人員及障礙者家長之經驗。瑞典以普及社會福利支持障礙者成為生活自主之公民，包括津貼、專業協助、照顧服務與喘息服務、特殊住宅等。對障礙者的教育則強調避免標籤、用適合障礙者的教學方式支持所有學生、透過觀察與不同方法支持障礙者。即便瑞典福利政策開始右傾、強調「效率」並被種族歧視政黨用以作為「針對移民小孩快速診斷與用藥」之選舉訴求，但專業者仍強調慢慢觀察，且教育資源並不以「障礙診斷」作為是否給予資源的唯一判準，值得臺灣學習。本文最後建議需以「公民」角度看待障礙者、改變社會對於障礙者工作的定義、以長期穩定的專業支持讓與障礙者工作的人員更能開展障礙者的能力；政府並應關照障礙者家屬需求及障礙者老化之問題，支持長期深化研究，以了解並解決障礙者與第一線人員的問題。

This article aims to examine disability services and education in Sweden through consideration of the country’s disability policies and related research and through interviews with a high school teacher, a parent whose son is disabled, staff at the daily activity centre for individuals with disabilities, and with disability researchers. I will apply my informal observations from the years I lived in Sweden, as well as the experiences and observations of professionals who work with individuals with disabilities. Sweden is distinct in its universal provision of social welfare, which enables individuals with disabilities to live independently as citizens. Sweden’s disability welfare includes cash benefits, professional assistance, care services, respite care, and housing. Education for children with disabilities avoids stigmatization and uses teaching methods that consider the needs of both abled and disabled students, while careful observation informs the need for more specialized approaches. Although a turn to the right in Swedish welfare policies has begun to stress efficiency, and the right-wing racist political parties employed a “speed diagnoses and medicines” rhetoric with regard to children of migrant backgrounds during the election campaign, the professionals who work with individuals with disabilities still insist on careful, long-term observation. Moreover, students without diagnoses can still get needed educational resources. These policies are a useful vantage from which to rethink Taiwan’s policies on disability diagnoses and education. I suggest that we should regard individuals with disabilities as citizens and broaden our definition of work, especially work for individuals with disabilities. Further, professionals who work with individuals with disabilities should have consistent support and the government should pay attention to the needs of family members supporting individuals with disabilities and the needs of aging individuals with disabilities, as well as support long-term research to deepen our understanding of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities and the professionals who work with them.