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Braille Code
Louis Braille published the Braille code. Which is still used today, braille is a tactile reading system used by individuals who are visually impaired. Braille was one of the first tools developed to help students in need of special education. -
The Massachusetts School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth
This school was founded by Samuel Gridley Howe. Dr. Howe was also the director of the Perkins School for the Blind. He established the School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Youth as an experimental boarding school in South Boston for youth with intellectual deficiencies. He believed in the importance of family and community, and wanted his school to to prepare students to live with the rest of society. -
The First Professional Association
Edouard Seguin helped organize the first professional association concerned with intellectual disabilities. This first organization is known as American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. This association is still standing and is the oldest and largest association of its kind. -
Elizabeth Farrell
Elizabeth Farrell was the founder of the first ungraded class in U.S. public schools, the developer of the basic principles and concepts under which special education still operates, and one of the founders of the Council for Exceptional Children. Elizabeth developed a program for children who were seen as "backwards" or "slow learning" in New York City. -
Vineland Training School
This school in New Jersey inaugurates training programs for teachers of students with intellectual disabilities. It was a non-profit organization with the mission of educating people with developmental disabilities so they can live independently. -
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
The Council for Exceptional Children was created to ensure the needs of children and youth with exceptionalities are met in educational legislation, establishes professional standards for the field and develops initiatives to improve special education practice. The CEC is the number one source for information, resources and professional development for special educators. -
National Association for Retarded Children
This association is known as The Arc of the United States or also known as The Arc. This association was founded because the advocates believed that special needs children should be raised in the home and they refused to accept that institutionalization was the only option. -
National Association for Gifted Children
The NAGC's mission is to support those who enhance the growth and development of gifted and talented children through education, advocacy, community building, and research. We aim to help parents and families, K-12 education professionals including support service personnel, and members of the research and higher education community who work to help gifted and talented children as they strive to achieve their personal best and contribute to their communities. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This act was passed as a landmark legislation which ensures, among other provisions, a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. The final version of the bill was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush. It was later amended in 2008 and signed by President George W. Bush with changes effective as of January 1, 2009. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. This act supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
This act aligns IDEA legislation with provisions of No Child Left Behind, and modifies the individualized education program process in addition to changes affecting school discipline, due process, and evaluation of students with disabilities. -
Rosa's Law
This law removes the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" form federal health, education, and labor statues. The preferred terms is now "intellectual disability".
