A HISTORY OF

SPECIAL EDUCATION

EDU 201 TUESDAY 6PM – 8:50PM

31 JANUARY 2017
BY WILLIAM HARLESS
300-400 YEARS OF PIONEERING PEOPLE
HAVE LED US TO THIS POINT TODAY
THE PIONEERS
 Jean Jacques Rousseau

1712-1778

Published his Emile a book about the education of children

 Jacob Rodrigues Pereire
1715-1780

Developed and early form of sign language

Charles-Michel de I’Epee Formal education for the deaf began with the
1712-1889 man who developed sign language.

Formed first public deaf school in 1754.

Valentin Hauy
1745-1822

He was the founder, in 1784, of the first school for the blind, the
Royal Institution for the Young Blind in Paris (now the National
Institute for the Young Blind).
 Philippe Pinel

1745-1826

Pioneered the field of occupational therapy

Itard’s mentor
 Jean Marc Gaspard Itard

1774-1835

Wrote the book called “Wild Boy of Aveyron”

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
1787-1851

Founded first American School for the Deaf in Hartford, CT in 1817.

 Samuel Gridley Howe
1801-1876

1829 founded first school for blind children.

 Dorothea Lynde Dix
1802-1887

One of the first Americans to champion better and more

humane treatment of individuals who are mentally ill.

Instigated the establishment of several institutions.

Louis Braille
1809-1852

1829 Publishes the Braille Code

 Edouard Seguin
1812-1880
Responsible for developing teaching methods for children
with intellectual disability.
Helped found an organization that was the forerunner of the American
Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disablilities.
 Sir Francis Galton
1822-1911

A scientist concerned with the study of individual differences.

Considered the Father of Mental Tests.

 Alexander Graham Bell
1847-1922

Pioneering advocate of educating children with disabilities in public schools.

Promoted the use of residual hearing and developing the speaking skills of deaf students.
Alfred Binet Theodore Simon
1857-1911 1872 –1961

Binet-Simon scale, one of the most widely-used scales in the

world for measuring intelligence.

This was the first IQ test.

 Her teaching of Helen Keller changed the manner in which children
with disabilities were educated.

She was kind and compassionate and never believed anyone

was a hopeless case.
Anne Sullivan
1866-1936

Teacher to Helen Keller.

 Maria Montessori
1870-1952

Pioneering work with young children and youngsters

with intellectual disability.

The "Montessori Method," as it came to be known,

sees the teacher not as the director in control of the classroom,
but rather as an individual guide to each student who determines
the pace of their own learning experiences.
 Helen Adams Keller
1880 - 1968

Was an American author, activist, and lecturer.

Both deaf and blind, she changed the public's
perception of people with disabilities.
 Lewis Terman
1877-1956

Released the Stanford-Binet Scale of Intelligence in 1916.

It was a revised version of Binet’s original assessment instrument.

1925 He publishes “Genetic Studies of Genius”

First volume in a five-volume study spanning nearly 40 years.

Considered the grandfather of gifted education for his lifelong

work and study of gifted individuals.
Elizabeth E. Farrell
1870-1932

She was an American educator, first person to teach a class of

special education students in an American public school.

In 1922, she became one of the founders and the first president
of the International Council for Exceptional Children.
 THE ACTS AND LAWS
OF THE UNITED STATES
PL 85-926 in 1958 and PL 86-158 in 1959

These two laws provided training for professionals and teachers

who worked with students with mental retardation.
1961 The Teachers of the Deaf Act PL 87-276

This law provided for training of teachers to work with the deaf
or hard of hearing.
In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (PL 89-10) and the State Schools Act (PL 89-313)

These granted funds to states to help educate children with

disabilities.
In 1968, the Handicapped Children's Early
Education Assistance Act of 1968 (PL 90-538)

This funded early childhood intervention for children with

disabilities.
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act

This guaranteed civil rights for the disabled in the context of

federally funded institutions or any program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance.

It required accommodations in affected schools for the disabled

including access to buildings and structures and improved
integration into society.
In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped
Children Act (EHA) Public Law 94-142

This established the right of children with disabilities to receive

a free, appropriate public education and provided funds to
enable state and local education agencies to comply with the
new requirements.
In 1986 EHA was reauthorized as PL 99-457

Additionally covers infants and toddlers below age 3 with

disabilities, and providing for associated Individual Family
Service Plans (IFSP), prepared documents to ensure
individualized special service delivery to families of respective
infants and toddlers.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
Providing individuals with identified disabilities similar
protections from discrimination as those granted by the Civil
Rights Act of 1964,

It barred discrimination in employment (Title 1), public services

and transportation (Title 2) public accommodations (Title 3),
telecommunications (Title 4) and miscellaneous provisions
(Title 5).

It was a great step in normalizing the lives of the disabled.

Title 3 prohibited disability based discrimination in any place of

public accommodation with regard to full and equal enjoyment
of the goods, services, facilities, or accommodations.

Public accommodations included most places of education.

 In 1997, Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The statute clearly stated its commitment to "our national policy of ensuring equality of
opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals
with disabilities."
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001
(ESEA) PL 107-110 know as “No Child Left Behind”

This act required accountability for the academic performance

of all school children, including those with disabilities.

It called for 100% proficiency in reading and math by the year

2012.
The Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (ATA) PL 108-364

This provided support for school-to-work transition projects and

created loan programs for the purchase of assistive technology
(AT) devices.
CITATIONS

http://neiuelcentro.tripod.com/id10.html

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Special_
education

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KI9dyE6Cew

http://www.specialednews.com/the-history-of-special-
education-in-the-united-states.htm