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Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Co-founded what is now known as the American School for the Deaf. -
Jean Marc Gaspard Itard
French physician worked with patients who were deaf. Performed various experiments in hopes of restoring patients' hearing. -
Samuel Gridley Howe
Physician, abolitionist, and advocate for the education of the blind founded and later became director of the Perkins Institution. -
Édouard Séguin
French physician and educator established several schools built to treat children with mental disabilities. -
Council of Exceptional Children
Founded by Elizabeth E. Ferrell in 1922, the organization develops the growth and improvement of professional special education through publications, professional development, and general advocacy. -
Parent Groups
Parent groups such as the PACER center work to provide improved opportunities and quality of education and life for those in need of special education. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Supreme Court ruling stated that separate is not equal, thus allowing the parents of students with disabilities to contend that their children were not getting the legal equal education that they deserved. -
Student Segregation
Prior to the 1960s, students with disabilities were isolated and segregated from those without disabilities. A disproportionate number of these students were impoverished and/or minorities. -
Special Olympics
Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with disabilities. -
Normalization
Defined as giving those with disabilities the same opportunities, quality of life, day to day interactions, etc. afforded those without disabilities. This effectively undid (eventually) the beliefs and practices held through the ideas of institutionalization during the 19th and early 20th centuries. -
Inclusion
Educational practices that include and integrate students with special education needs into classrooms and learning environments with students who do not require exceptional or special education services. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
The act required all public schools to provide equal education and one free meal a day to students with disabilities. -
Regular Education Initiative
Despite various practices developed through REIs, "mainstreaming" as an example, not all norms and expectations were being met, thus necessitating more legislation in order to regulate the education of students with disabilities. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
In 1990 Congress reauthorized the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHC) and changed the name to IDEA. Changes and provisions were added to the original law in order to ensure that students with disabilities receive the same quality of education as students without disabilities. -
American with Disabilities Act
This law effectively made discrimination based on disability illegal. -
No Child Left Behind
The act supports standards-based education reform. -
Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act
Effectively changed IDEA to IDEIA and included various provisions dealing with IEPs and the discipline of special education students. -
Current Status of Inclusion Practices
Though it varies greatly from school to school and district to district, special education is based on the six principles of IDEA: due process, equal protection, zero reject, free and appropriate public education, least restrictive environment, and nondiscriminatory assessment.
