ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author attempts to determine a terminology common to all groups described as having special needs have had to contend with the need to adapt provision to changing policies and practices. He argues that as institutions of post-compulsory education have each developed their distinctive approaches to provision for students with special needs, the language used to describe this work has diversified. He demonstrates that notwithstanding the further education funding council’s focus on disability and learning difficulty, the experience of marginalisation in the post-compulsory education system is one shared with other groups of students identified for different reasons as having special needs. He shows that complexities remain and are present in the environments where he carried out his research. He argues that while lack of a constant professional language may pose difficulties for professionals, divergence in practice is creating new educational opportunities for students.
