The objective of this study was to evaluate the conditions of school furniture available for students with cerebral palsy in public schools in the city Natal, Rio Grande do Norte in 2008, looking at how physical therapists participated in the process of prescribing such furniture. The data was collected using an evaluation protocol with students with cerebral palsy and with school principals who filled out forms. The analysis was undertaken according to the categories that arose from the data. The results indicated that: 1) school furniture doesn’t meet the specific positioning needs of the students that were evaluated and 2) physical therapists do not participate in prescribing appropriate furniture. The study showed that in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, educational administrators need to carry out the policies that have been determined by law in order to make proper school furniture available to students with cerebral palsy. The necessary resources must be ensured in order to guarantee optimum educational conditions for students with cerebral palsy in the regular school context.
Special Education; Cerebral Palsy; School Furniture; Evaluation; Health Professional
