New Perspectives on Key Concepts in Special Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60059/SPL.2025.2.8-19Keywords:
terminology, special education, compensation, multi literacy, belongingAbstract
The present article was delivered as a plenary paper on November 21, 2025, at the roundtable discussion entitled “Special Education in Bulgaria: Achievements, Challenges and New Horizons”, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Special Education at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Based on dynamically evolving scientific knowledge, a new, expanded interpretation of some key concepts in special education is proposed. Through a contemporary reassessment of the compensatory process, the conclusion is reached that healthy analyzers do not merely strengthen their functions, but to a certain extent stimulate the overall development of the impaired analyzer. New dimensions of the following concepts are presented: disabilities and their simulation in the training of specialists, haptic communication for the deaf-blind deafblind, multiliteracy, artificial intelligence in special education, the enrichment of inclusive education with a sense of belonging and new types of programs programmes, as well as the new family engagement of parents a new perspective on parental involvement.
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