[Deficiencies, disabilities and handicaps: taking responsibility for the young maladjusted child]

A handicap should not be confused with deficiency or incapacity. It is the resulting difference between an individual's competencies and the situation which is proposed to, or imposed to, him. Whatever the type of deficiency a child may have, and the subsequent incapacity, it is important to discern for therapy, the positive aspects of his personality as soon as possible in order to develop his chances for success and avoid set backs. Structures such as the Medical and Social Early Action Center (CAMSP), which we created in 1976 at the Medical Center in Versailles, allow personalized care. More than progress in reference to an often illusory norm, it is the search for talents, aptitudes and, in function of this, the acquisition of knowledge, which should be the educator's concern. An excess of legislation may unfortunately lead to the standardization of the means and goals.