The history of Learning Disabilities and Special Ed in schools and Important People Along the Way
By sstayma02
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The practices of the time regarding those with disabilities
Before 1700, there was little toleration for anyone who was different in Europe and America. People who were blind, deaf, crippled, or mentally slow were often abused, condemned as incapable of improvement, or simply forgotten. -
Trends During the 1800s to the mid 1900s
Learning and attention issues were not on the public's radar. However, they were a topic of conversation among scientists and doctors. -
Formal Education for Deaf Students Begins in the U.S
Thomas H. Gallaudet leaves the U.S for Europe in 1815 to learn how to teach the deaf. Upon his return, he founds the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of "Deaf and Dumb Persons" in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the first permanent school for the deaf in America. The opening of its doors, on April 15, 1817, marks the beginning of efforts in America to educate people with disabilities. This was a huge development becuase previously people with disabilities were excluded. -
Refined definition of "dyslexia"
A German physician named Rudolf Berlin refines our definition of reading problems, using the term "dyslexia" to describe a very great difficulty in interpreting written and printed symbols. http://rudolfberlin-eng.org -
Willowbrook State School
Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities located in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City from the 1930s until 1987. The school was designed for 4,000, but by 1965 it had a population of 6,000. At the time it was the biggest state-run institution for the mentally handicapped in the U.S. Conditions and questionable medical practices and experiments prompted Senator Robert Kennedy to label it as a "snake pit". -
Brown V. Board of Education
Due to the outcome of this U.S. Supreme Court case, segregation on the basis of race violated equal educational opportunity. This case led the way to a growing understanding that all people regardless of race, gender, or disability, have a right to public education. Integration into public schools was introduced by Brown v. Board of Education. -
Trends during the 1960s and 1970s
The education and medical professions in the United States recognized learning disabilities (LD) and what was later to be called ADHD. Public schools and the federal government started paying attention to students with learning disabilities. However, most kids with LD were taught seperatly, away from their peers. Inclusion was not yet a common goal. -
John F. Kennedy's "National Plan to Combat Mental Retardation"
In 1961, President JFK gathered a distinguished panel of experts to develop "A National Plan to Combat Mental Retardation." Kennedy made a speech to the Congress of the United States in 1963, where he announced the findings and asked for support for new resources to address the needs of people with mental retardation and mental illness: the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Act, which granted federal aid funds to serve disabled citizens. -
First person to use the term "learning disability"
Samuel A. Kirk was the first person documented to have used the term "learning disability" at an Education Conference in Chicago. In his speech at this conference Kirk coined and defined the term "learning disability". Kirk is widley credited with laying the groundwork for the laws requiring schools to provide assistance for students with learning disabilities. What is a learning disability? Here is a modern definition:
http://www.ldonline.org/ldbasics/whatisld -
Samuel Kirk, biggest controbution
Dr. Samel Kirk's biggest controbution to public policy was when he persuaded the Administration and Congress to begin providing financing to train teachers to provide the expert help that students with learning disabilities and greater needs required. -
Two Significant Supreme Court Decisions
Two significant supreme court decisions [PARC v. Pennsylvania (1972) and Mills v. D.C. Board of Education (1972)] apply the equal protection argument to students with disabilities.
The courts take the position that children with disabilities have an equal right to access education as their non-disabled peers. Although there is no existing federal law that mandates this stance, some students begin going to school as a result of these court decisions. -
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142), which mandates a free, appropriate education for all students. (this law is renamed IDEA in 1990) More on IDEA:
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html -
IEP or Individual Education Plan
Introduced into school systems around the world in 1975, the IEP or Individual Education Plan, makes it so that every student with a disability of one kind or another whether it be a learning disability or physical disability, has an equal opportunity to get the same education as every other student. -
Trends during the 1980s and 1990s
The education and medical fields strove to understand learning and attention issues. They were trying to understand how to help the children who had them. ADHD became more widley known. A controversy began over whether children were being overdiagnosed. -
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) is enacted
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is enacted.
ADA adopts the Section 504 regulations as part of the ADA statute. In turn, numerous “504 Plans” for individual students start to become more common place in school districts. -
IDEA is reauthorized
IDEA is reauthorized. Regular education teachers are included in the IEP process, students have more access to the general curriculum and are included in state wide assessments, and ADHD is added to the list of conditions that could make a child eligible for services under the category "other health impairment."
What is IDEA? please see link below:
http://idea.ed.gov -
Trends 2000 to Present Day
Awareness and research of LD and ADHD issues takes off. Federal law more clearly defines what special education services are and gives parents more rights. Researchers started using brain imaging to study the causes of LD and ADHD. -
No Child Left Behind Act
Elementary and Secondary Education Act renamed No Child Left Behind Act. It holds states and schools more accountable for studnet progress.
This law calls for all students, including students with disabilities, to be proficient in math and reading by the year 2014. -
President George Bush & Commission on Excellence in Special Ed
PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON EXCELLENCE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION (PCESE)
President George Bush established a Commission on Excellence in Special Education to collect information and study issues related to Federal, State, and local special education programs with the goal of recommending policies for improving the education performance of students with disabilities. -
IDEA is reauthorized again
IDEA is reauthorized again. School personnel now have more authority in special education placement decisions and the new law is better aligned with the No Child Left Behind Act.
There are several changes from the 1997 reauthorization. The biggest changes call for more accountability at the state and local levels, as more data on outcomes is required. Another notable change involves school districts providing adequate instruction and intervention for students to help keep them out of special ed -
History of Disability Rights Enters Curricula
The first bill requiring that students in a K-12 public school system be taught the history of the disability rights movement is passed, largely due to the efforts of 20 young people with disabilities from the state of West Virginia. -
"Dear Colleague" letter
The Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education releases a "Dear Colleague" letter. It says that denying children with disabilities access to accelerated academic programs is a civil rights violation. -
American with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008
Deemed the "most significant disability legislation ever passed" by the National Council on Disibility, the ADA Amendments of 2008 revised the definition of “disability” to more broadly encompass impairments that substantially limit a major life activity. -
Court Affirms Reimbursment for Special Education
The Supreme Court ruled that parents of special education students may seek government reimbursment for private school tuition, even if they have never received special-education services in public school. -
Obama's Blueprint for Education
The Obama administration released its blueprint for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). According to the Department of Education, “The blueprint challenges the nation to embrace education standards that would put America on a path to global leadership. It provides incentives for states to adopt academic standards that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and create accountability systems that measure student growth." -
More assistive technology for special education students
With the increasing amount of technological advancement and uses in the 21st century, special education students are not being left behind. More and more technology is being used for students to communicate effectively in the classroom. Here is a video demonstrating the use of technology in a special ed classroom, as well as how beneficial it can be to the students.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBbY-s5b1RE -
Trends in Special Education
In 2015 special education educators continued to try and discover the best methods possible for their students. Just like many other fields and areas in education, special education teaching techniques are constantly being reevaluated and assesed to make sure they are as beneficial to the student as possible. Here is an article that lists ten different ways special educators can stay up to date on the best methods out there.
http://www.scilearn.com/blog/2015-special-education-trends
