Approach to the Educational Needs of Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities by Visiting Education

Visiting education has been conducted for children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) under medical care. Recently, however, with the support of medical care in special education institutions, an increasing number of these children have begun to study at school. Children with SMID who receive education at home, on the other hand, show more serious problems, and a higher level of specialty is required than ever before about visiting education, which is provided in limited conditions of time and space. In addition, in Shikoku, quite a few children with SMID are unable to go to school for geographical reasons.In this study, I conducted a survey to special education teachers in Shikoku about the present conditions of visiting education, together with its significance and problems. The results are: 1) the distance from special education schools and the availability of the relevant medical care services are the factors that influence the choice of visiting education; and 2) teachers have a desire to provide higher quality education in limited conditions of visits. These results suggest that teacher training is urgently needed to cope with problems specifically related to visiting education.