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Jean Marc Gaspard Itard's Work
Itard is known as the founder of special education. He is most known for his work with Victor (the Wild Boy of Aveyron). This work shows us how valuable it is to introduce language to children at a young age. Additionally, he created hearing aids for people with hearing impairments, and he came up with many methods for treating and teaching the deaf. Lastly, he was the first person to document a case of Tourette syndrome. -
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Philippe Pinel's Work
Pinel is known as the founder of psychiatry. He was doctor at an asylum in France who studied mental illnesses. He is known for removing restraints such as chains and straitjackets from mentally ill people. He also stopped medical techniques like leaches and bleeding to start the moral treatment method. Unfortunately, like most others at the time, he considered mental illnesses to make people unteachable and incurable. -
First School for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Edouard Seguin established the first school for people with intellectual disabilities. Seguin was a young doctor who had previously studied under Itard. -
First Public School for People with Disabilities in America
Samuel Gridley Howe established the first public school for people with disabilities in the United States of America. He was inspired by Seguin's work with the students at his school. He taught sign language to a deaf and blind student so that she could communicate better. -
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First Ungraded Classes Established
Ungraded classes were established for people who supposedly could not succeed in general education classes. These classes were exclusively for boys who may have been able to do well with the curriculum but their attendance or behavior limited their ability to succeed. -
Binet-Simon Scale Intelligence Test
Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon were hired to create an intelligence test to differentiate academically successful students from those who were not. They wanted to identify struggling students so that they could receive the necessary support to succeed. -
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Expansion of Ungraded Classes
More ungraded classes were established including classes for children with epilepsy, heart disease, and defective speech. The most capable children with disabilities were educated in ungraded classes, while the less capable children were housed in institutions. -
Establishment of the National Association of Parents and Friends of Mentally Retarded Children
The National Association of Parents and Friends of Mentally Retarded Children was established by parents of people with disabilities who did not want to house their children in institutions. They wanted their children with disabilities to live at home and attend schools like other children. They worked to change the public's perception of people with disabilities and establish services for people with disabilities who up until this point were denied work and education. -
Establishment of Classes for Most Students with Disabilities
In the United States of America, 49 states had classes for "educatable" children, 37 states had classes for "trainable" children (IQ between 25 and 50), and 0 states had classes for "dependent" children (IQ below 20). -
Establishment of the President's Panel on Mental Retardation
President John F. Kennedy established the President's Panel on Mental Retardation. It was meant to recommend ways the government could better the lives of people with disabilities. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
The passing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act meant that all children, including those with disabilities, had a right to free and appropriate public education. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a revised version of the Education of the Handicapped Act. It requires people with disabilities to be educated in the same environment as those without disabilities as much as possible.