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US creates first permanent school for the deaf
Formal education of the deaf or hearing impaired was late in arriving in the America. It was not until the April 15, 1817 opening of the Connecticut Asylum for the Education of Deaf and Dumb Persons in Hartford that the United States could boast of its first permanent school for the deaf. -
Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf
The Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf was (despite the name) the first international conference of deaf educators. The conference declared that oral education was superior to manual education and passed a resolution banning the use of sign language in school. After its passage in 1880, schools in European countries and the United States switched to using speech therapy without sign language as a method of education for the deaf. -
Total Communication Emerges
The almost exclusive use of the pure oral method in deaf education continued well into the twentieth century. Then, during the late 1960s, Roy Kay Holcomb coined the term "Total Communication". This term described an educational method he popularized where the child could use the communication approach that worked best for them in whatever particular situation they were in. -
Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act passed
The act requires that public schools create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student who is found to be eligible under both the federal and state eligibility/disability standards. -
Cochlear implants approved
In 1990, cochlear implants were approved for children two years of age and up. This drastically changed education for deaf children. More children than ever were migrated out of bilingual-bicultural residential schools and into oral schools and mainstream programs with no extra supports.
