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French physician, Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard worked with Victor, a 12yr old who was deaf, mute and had an intellectual disability and introduced the idea that children with significant needs could benefit from attention and instruction.
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Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons opened in Hartford, CT.
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Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe opened the Perkins Institute for the Blind.
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Braille code is first published.
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Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe established a school for "ten idiotic" and feeble minded youth.
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Gallaudet University(originally named National Deaf Mute College), the first federally chartered college for the blind, was established.
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French born American psychiatrist, Edouard Seguin, created a method that included a structured learning environment emphasizing developing the senses, engaging in physical activity and learning basic academic skills. He stressed positive impact of rewards and negative impact of punishment.
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The first public school special class was established in Cleveland, Ohio but was soon disbanded.
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Alexander Graham Bell coined the term "special education".
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Shortly after the opening of the first special class in Cleveland, another opened in Providence, RI. Following this, others opened in New York, Chicago, Boston and Philidelphia.
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Training for Special Education teachers begins at the college level.
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Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon create the intelligence test that is the basis for IQ testing today. Professionals at the time thought this could be a way to determine level of ability.
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When compulsory education became established, it became apparent that some children weren't "normal". Segregated classrooms in the public schools were established.
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The terms mentally retarded and gifted are introduced and discussed in the literature.
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The Council for Exceptional Children(CEC) was established by a group of students who were meeting to discuss ways to help and educate "special children".
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During the Industrial Revolution and beyond, the eugenics movement emerged in which disabled adults were sterilized to prevent them from "diluting" the superior American race. This persisted in some states into the 1970s.
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Students at this time were identified by IQ tests and other measures. They were grouped and taught in ungraded classrooms with the thought that they could not succeed in typical classrooms.
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Dr. Leo Kanner describes characteristics of children with what he called "disturbances of affective contact".
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Dr. Hans Asperger identifies characteristics of children with common issues with what was later called Asperger syndrome.
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Modern civil rights movement in education that said "separate cannot be equal". This movement brought about questions surrounding the ability of children with disabilities taught in separate classrooms to get an appropriate education.
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A series of studies comparing achievement and social adjustment of students with intellectual disabilities separated into special classes with students with similar abilities in general education settings. Results suggested that students in general education settings had better academic achievement.
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Dr. Samuel Kirk, psychologist and educator, introduces the term "learning disabilities".
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First federal law to directly address the education of students with disabilities was passed. It provided funding to states to create programs for students with disabilities.
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Christmas in Purgatory, by Blatt and Kaplan, was a photographic expose of institutional life. It received much attention and led to significant changes in policy and law.
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Title VI was added to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide funds for best practices for special education.
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Researcher Lloyd Dunn wrote an essay, "Special Education for the Mildly Retarded: Is Much of It Justifiable?" He encouraged educators to educate students with disabilities with their peers.
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The public school system was ordered to perform IQ testing to Spanish-speaking children in their native language.
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A class action lawsuit involving 18,000 students in Washington, D.C. which involved a school district being order to educate ALL students, including those with disabilities.
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Parents won a guarantee that their children with disabilities had a right to free public education geared toward their needs.
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In order to point out that some children were considered disabled while at school but not at home and in their neighborhoods, Mercer coined the phrase "the six hour retarded child". This applied to many non English speaking children.
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was the first civil rights law for persons with disabilities. It discourages discrimination against persons with disabilities in any federally funded program.
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This law increased federal special education funding and charged states with the task of creating full educational opportunities for students with disabilities.
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Amendments to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1974. These are laws that are still in place today that require states to follow the law in order to receive funding.
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The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was expanded to include infants and young children with disabilities.
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The Education for All Handicapped Children's Act was amended and renamed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
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Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990, offering numerous regulation and protections for persons with disabilities.
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This law provided Title I funding for disadvantaged children and was signed by President George W. Bush.
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IDEA was reauthorized with increased standards for quality instruction for students with disabilities, encouraged parental involvement and defined "highly qualified" for Special Education teachers.
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Federal language usage was changed by President Barack Obama from "mental retardation" to "intellectual disability".
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Each person involved in Special Education is an integral part of shaping its future. Arthur Brantley teaches Special Education at Waycross Middle School.
