Inclusive schools are schools where children with disabilities are taught alongside children without disabilities.

Children with intellectual disabilities who attend inclusive schools need special textbooks to allow them to develop and learn efficiently, particularly during their elementary school years.

In Albania, however, such books are not available in inclusive schools, which means that children with intellectual disabilities who attend these schools often struggle to keep up. 

In 2021, experts from Albania and Kosovo developed an updated textbook tailored to the needs of children with intellectual disabilities. 

The Albanian Ministry of Education approved the piloting of the textbook in schools that specialize in teaching children with disabilities. But because experts would like the book to be piloted in inclusive schools and no agreement on the matter has been reached, the piloting of the book has stalled.

DW met up with a family trying to help their child overcome the challenges face at school by offering him individual therapy at a specialized center for children with disabilities.