Identification of special educational needs - Portugal

Definition of the Target Group and eligibility process

The target groups for special education are the following:
Pupils with significant limitations in terms of activity and participation in one or more areas in life due to permanent functional and structural issues, which result in continued difficulty in terms of communication, learning, mobility, autonomy, interpersonal relationships and social involvement.

The transfer of children and young people that need special educational support is done by school and school cluster administration and management. After referral, the executive council requests the special education department’s assessment of the referred children and young people. The objective of the assessment is to collect information that permits:

1. verification that it is a permanent special educational needs situation
2. guidance for the drawing up of an Individual Educational Programme.