CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES IN CROATIA: FROM PSYCHIATRY TO SPECIALIZED INSTITUTIONS (1897–1970s)

In the period between the late nineteenth century and the 1970s, the treatment of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Croatia was predominantly shaped by medical paradigms and biologically deterministic perspectives. Initial steps toward educational inclusion emerged in the 1930s with the establishment of special classes and the implementation of standardized testing, although many children continued to be excluded from formal education. In the postwar period, institutional models gradually adapted to demographic changes and evolving diagnostic practices, yet in the absence of coherent policy frameworks. The study underscores the fragmented interplay between medical, social, and educational sectors, emphasizing that sub- stantive reforms did not take shape until the early 1970s.