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Itard and Victor
Jean Marc Gaspard Itard became an early pioneer in special education when he provided interventions to a 12-year-old boy, Victor, who was found in the woods and was thought to be raised by wild animals. Despite the common view of Victor as an "incurable idiot," Itard was able to teach Victor to speak, recognize words and letters, and care for himself. (Wheymeyer & Shogren, 2017).
The Wild Boy of Aveyron -
Edward Seguin
Edward Seguin, a young doctor who studied under Itard, continued refining Itard's methods and working with children. In 1839, Seguin established the first school to educate students with intellectual disabilities. Seguin developed a treatment called the "Physiological Method" that was published in 1844. (Wehmeyer & Shogren, 2017) -
Howe's School
Samuel Gridley Howe developed the first public school for feebleminded children in America. The school was established in Boston, Massachusets in a section of the Perkins Institute for the Blind (Wehmeyer & Shogren, 2017).
Instruction of Idiots -
Ungraded Classes
The first "ungraded" classes were established throughout the 1870's. These classes were established for students who could no succeed in a typical classroom. Examples include an ungraded class for disobedient youth in New Haven Connecticut in 1871, a class for truant boys in New York City in 1874, and a class for incorrigible and truant boys in 1876 in Cleveland.
Farrell and the Henry Street Settlement -
Elizabeth Farrell
Elizabeth Farrell is known as teaching the first class of special education students in America. Farrell created this class in 1899 at Henry Street School in New York City.
Elizabeth E. Farrell -
New York City Public Schools
Farrell's efforts contributed to the New York City Public Schools being the first example of making an effort to educate students who were feebleminded beginning in 1903. Following the creation of Farrell's ungraded classroom, an additional 131 ungraded classrooms were present in the New York City Public Schools by 1912.
Compulsory Education Laws of 1903 -
Intelligence Testing
Henry Herbert Goddard became the director of the psychological laboratory at the New Jersey Training School for Feeble-Minded Boys and Girls. During his time here, he introduced the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale to America.
The birth of American intelligence testing -
Council for Exceptional Children
While teaching in Columbia University's Teachers College, Elizabeth Farrell and her students established the International Council for the Education of Exceptional Children, now called the Council for Exceptional Children.
Historical Timeline of Special Education in America -
National Association of Parents and Friends of Mentally Retarded Children
At this time, 124,304 people lived in state-run institutions for individuals who were mentally retarded. Parents began to fight for a chance for their children to have the opportunity to live at home. Representatives of these groups met in Minneapolis to form the National Association of Parents and Friends of Mentally Retarded Children.
The Power of Parents -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
With the efforts of parent, friends, and advocates; the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed.
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
