Rehabilitation Professionals Listen to and Work as Partners with Disabled Persons Brazil is a vast country of diverse cultures and striking contrasts. A small percentage of people are enormously wealthy. Millions live in poverty.
Big cities have a few modern, highly sophisticated rehabilitation centers.
Big barriers, both physical and social, lie in the way of full community integration. According to an early plan, most course participants were to be rehabilitation professionals from government institutions. We felt that if the course could help rehabilitation professionals work together with communities, listen to disabled persons, and relate to them as partners and equals in the problem-solving process, much might be gained. Nearly one quarter of the course participants were either disabled themselves or were parents of disabled children. They led discussions about needs and possibilities based on their own experiences.