History of Special Education

  • Phillipe Pinel 1745-1826

    Phillipe Pinel 1745-1826
    -French physician who advocated humane treatment of "insane" people.
  • Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard 1774-1838

    Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard 1774-1838
    -French physician who was an expertise on diseases of the ear and an educational expert on deaf students. Famous for educating Victor of Aveyron, commonly known as "the wild boy of Aveyron."
  • Edouard Seguin 1812-1880

    Edouard Seguin 1812-1880
    -Known as the "Father of Special Education," he founded several schools dedicated to special education.
  • Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet 1787-1851

    Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet 1787-1851
    1817-He established the first American residential school in Hartford, CT for students who were deaf. The school is known today as the "American School of the Deaf."
  • Samuel Gridley Howe 1801-1876

    Samuel Gridley Howe  1801-1876
    -Created first residential school for the blind.
    - Utilized curriculum focused on traditional reading, writing, mathematics, and students' individual interests and abilities.
  • Early Days of Special Education - Early 19th Century

    Early Days of Special Education - Early 19th Century
    -First systematic attempts made to educate children with special needs (who were at the time legitimately referred to as "idiotic" and "insane" students").
  • Elizabeth Farrell 1870-1932

    Elizabeth Farrell 1870-1932
    -Taught special needs children in early 20th Century and used information about child development, social work, mental testing, and instruction to address the needs of children. She also helped to establish the International Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in 1922.
  • Parent Organizations Formed - 1950s

    Parent Organizations Formed - 1950s
    -Effective national parent organizations formed in order to influence educational progress of children.
  • Deinstitutionalism (Movement) 1960s-1970s

    Deinstitutionalism (Movement) 1960s-1970s
    -Movement to move people out of specialized institutions and back into closer contact with the community.
  • Eunice Shriver (1921 - 2009)

    Eunice Shriver (1921 - 2009)
    -Founded the Special Olympics.
  • Normalization (Theory)

    Normalization (Theory)
    With its emergence in the early 1970s, the normalization principle means making available to all people with disabilities, patterns of life, and conditions of everyday living which are as close as possible to the regular circumstances and ways of life or society.
  • Education for All Handicapped Children Act

    Education for All Handicapped Children Act
    -This act required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical and mental disabilities.
  • Hudson v. Rowley - 1982

    Hudson v. Rowley - 1982
    -The Supreme Court Case, Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, was a United States Supreme Court case concerning the interpretation of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Amy Rowley was a deaf student whose school refused to provide a sign language interpreter.
  • Amy Rowley - (Hudson v. Rowley Court Case 1982)

    Amy Rowley - (Hudson v. Rowley Court Case 1982)
    -Deaf student who went on to establish the American Sign Language Program at California State University East Bay.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - 1990

    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - 1990
    -The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was amended to become the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  • Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) - 1990

    -This Act was created to ensures that those with disabilities not be discriminated against.
  • Inclusion (Movement) - Late 20th and Early 21st Century

    Inclusion (Movement) - Late 20th and Early 21st Century
    -A movement which surfaced in the late 20th and early 21st Century, which promotes the inclusion of those with disabilities to work and learn in the same environments as those without disabilities.
  • No Child Left Behind Act - 2001

    No Child Left Behind Act - 2001
    -Signed by president George W. Bush in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act authorizes several federal education programs that are administered by the states. The law is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in high school and requires that all teachers eventually be "highly qualified."
  • Title of IDEA Act Altered Yet Again

    Title of IDEA Act Altered Yet Again
    -In 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was re-dubbed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.
  • Mary Losure

    Mary Losure
    -In 2013, Mary Losure published a book about Jean-Marc Itard and "the wild boy of Aveyron" for children and adolescents to learn a little bit about the history of special education.
  • Nick Vujicic (1982 - Present Day)

    Nick Vujicic (1982 - Present Day)
    -Nicholas James Vujicic is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of arms and legs. Despite his handicapped, he has motivated thousands to live extraordinary lives.
  • Doug Landis

    Doug Landis
    -Doug Landis is an artist who is paralyzed from the neck down. Yes, that's right. He draws with a pencil in his mouth. He has overcome his disability to become one of those most famous artists in the modern world.