ABSTRACT
It can be concluded that the integration principle in Italy has become a national reality. Parents and society at large seem to have accepted integration as an important educational goal. About 99 per cent of all children with special needs have been integrated into regular education by now (Lunetta, 1987). Integration is most advanced in Florence, Bologna, Trieste and Parma (Bürli, 1985; Hegarty, Pocklington and Lucas, 1981; Thannhäuser, 1983), where also the most severely handicapped have access to regular classes.
