Autism and Special Education Policy in Mexico

In recent years, a great deal of scholarship has examined the adequacy of special education and other support services for children with disabilities in the U.S. and in other industrialized states. By contrast, there has been comparatively little study of services for children with disabilities in developing countries. In this paper, we attempt to bridge this gap in the literature. Focusing on the case of Mexico, we examine the provision of special education and other support services, and the availability and cost of private services. The focus of the analysis is on children with autism. Drawing upon a theoretical approach that combines modern political economy and comparative institutionalism, we also develop a tentative explanation of the politics of policy-making among parents and other stakeholders in the autism advocacy community