There are two deviations from this general definition. First, the law concerning pension and retirement benefits states that "a handicapped person is an individual whose working capacity is reduced by more than 33% as a result of physical or intellectual impairments duly certified by an official health authority."3
Second, the Framework Agreement for Special Education, issued by the Ministry of Education to provide guidance to the provinces on dealing with students with disabilities within the framework of the Federal Education Act, states that "special educational needs are those experienced by individuals who require aids or resources that are not usually available in an educational environment, and which enable them to participate in the learning process established in the Curriculum Design."4
Except in these two instances, the definitions and terminology used
in official documents consistently refer to Law 22431 and to the World Health
Organization ICIDH-I classification.5 The International Classification of Functions,
Disability and Health (ICF) has not yet been officially used.6
Through the middle of the twentieth century, Argentina collected
information on persons with disabilities. After 1960, however, no consistent data on
the disability population was collected for forty years. In response to the demands
of people concerned with disability issues and the requirements of the United
Nations, the topic was again included in the 2001 Census.7 According to that
census, the total population of the Argentine Republic was 36,260,130 people.8
3. Argentine Federation of Institutions for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (FENDIM), Legislación aplicable al Sector de las personas con discapacidad. [Legislation Applicable to the Disability Sector] Siglo XXI Collection, (Argentina 1999); Law 20475, sec 1, 1973.
4. Ley Federal de Educación [Federal Education Act], 1993, www.me.gov.ar/leyfederal.
5. Federal Council for Culture and Education, Ministry of Culture and Education, Acuerdo Marco para la Educación Especial, Documentos para la Concertación [Framework Agreement for Special Education, Documents for Concerted Action], series A, no. 19, (December 1998).
6. International Classification of Impairment, Disability and Handicap, http://www.who.int/icidh/.
7. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.
8. The 2000 census was postponed until 2001 due to financial constraints.
9. http://www.indec.mecon.ar.