MIRELLA ANTONIONE CASALE: SHE WHO MADE THE SCHOOL INCLUSIVE - LIFESTYLE

Mirella Antonione Casale: the woman who led to inclusion in Italian schools

If today the school is an egalitarian place accessible to all, we owe it above all to a woman. A woman who perhaps - unfortunately - not everyone knows, but who has contributed to significantly improve the Italian school system. We are talking about Mirella Antonione Casale, the one who, at the turn of the sixties and seventies, fought so that even children with disabilities could finally attend the same schools as others, those considered "normal".

Who is Mirella Antonione Casale?

It is December 12, 1925, the day when a baby girl destined to make a difference in the world is born in Turin. Her name is Mirella Antonione Casale and, growing up, she makes education her personal existential cornerstone. After a degree in classical literature, he starts working as a teacher first in a middle school and later at a technical institute. Her academic career underwent a turning point when, in 1968, Mirella Casale won the competition for the position of middle school principal.

Tragedy and awareness

Professor Casale stands out for her kindness and empathy that make her particularly sensitive to social issues, especially those concerning children. In particular, a sad personal event further emphasizes these characteristics and makes her even more combative for the recognition of equal rights even for the marginalized. On 26 October 1957, in fact, Mirella's life was turned upside down by a tragedy. Her beloved daughter Flavia, barely six months old, became seriously ill. The diagnosis was terrible: Asian flu . Fever, viral encephalitis and, finally, coma. The doctors are now resigned, unlike Mirella who does not stop hoping for a second that her baby will wake up. And so it happens. Casale brings her daughter home, finds a pediatrician in which she trusts blindly and, thanks to a new therapy, Flavia regains consciousness. Unfortunately, however, the brain damage caused by the disease is irreversible and very extensive. his moment, Mirella's fight begins. When Flavia turns 6, her mother experiences first hand the dramatic situation of disabled children at school. In fact, no school is willing to accept pupils in these "conditions", except private or special ones, in which however children are neglected and certainly not educated.

The distressing marginalization to which disabled children and their families are forced by the state and the Italian school upset this extraordinary principal to such an extent that it pushes her to start a real battle that will end up completely revolutionizing the Italian school system.

Activism in ANFFAS on the side of the marginalized

In 1964 Mirella Antonione Casale assumed the office of president of the Turin section of ANFFAS Onlus (National Association of Families of People with Intellectual and / or Relational Disabilities) and began to organize real protests accompanied by the distribution of leaflets that made clear the situation of discomfort faced by these families and their children. Its goal was to attract attention and raise public awareness but above all the institutions on this issue, pushing for the opening of common schools also to disabled students.

His unstoppable activism leads to the closure of a psychiatric clinic where children with disabilities lived in pitiful conditions, forced into forced segregation. But this is not enough. No, the battle waged by Mirella Antonione Casale certainly does not stop here. The woman, in fact, founds a day center in which, within an inclusive environment, they are offered the opportunity to enjoy the same education guaranteed to all the other children. He even went to France and Switzerland to learn about the functioning of the day centers and inclusive schools that already exist there and to import all these notions to Piedmont, where he finally succeeds in persuading the Province to deal concretely with the issue.

The opening of schools to disabled children: a dream come true

It is precisely in these years and, in particular, since 1968 that thousands of families are convinced to enroll their disabled children in ordinary schools. At first, the transition process is chaotic and complicated, as the curriculum as well as the general approach of the school is not yet adequate for change. This is until the Italian state becomes aware of the general unease and decides to take material action to improve the situation. In fact, between 1974 and 1975, some laws were enacted aimed at facilitating the transition of students with disabilities from private / special institutions to normal ones, for example by promoting the role of a support teacher. Furthermore, in 1977, with Law no. 517 the principle of integration is officially introduced for all disabled pupils in primary and middle school aged 6 to 14, establishing however the obligation of educational planning by all teachers in the class, accompanied in this process by specialized colleagues in teaching support.

Mirella Casale is finally able to see the dream for which she had fought so much fulfilled. The dream of an inclusive school, attentive to differences and open to all. So, to help all the people who are in the same condition as her and to give them support, she decided to found the ANFFAS of the Pinerolo Valleys herself, which she chaired for 8 years. Finally, in 2014, the official recognition of her exceptional work: it is in that year, in fact, that the national assembly decides to give her a special mention in the honor roll for the commitment and dedication shown over the years towards of this association.

The story of Mirella Casale, which freely inspired the Rai fiction “The class of donkeys”, is the demonstration that superpowers are not needed to transform into heroes and change the world. Sometimes, commitment, dedication and a lot of tenacity are enough.