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First permanent special education school
The Connecticut Asylum for Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb in Hartford, Connecticut was the first publicly funded permanent school in the United States for individuals who had a disability, specifically Deafness. The school was established by Thomas Gaullaudet and Laurant Clerc who modeled the school off of French schools for the Deaf. Sign language was used to instruct students in academics and allow them to communicate. The school is today called the American School for the Deaf. -
Compulsory Education Laws
Massachusetts was the first state to have mandatory school attendance for children 8-14, for at least 12 weeks in the year. By 1918 all states had compulsory education laws mandating all children attend school for a certain amount of weeks in the year (varied by state). States believed that public education of children was the imperative for improving literacy rates and helping immigrants assimilate into the country. It also reduced companies being able to use cheap child labor. -
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Compulsory Education Laws
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American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) promotes policies, research and practices to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. AAIDD supports professionals who are working with and educating individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. One of AAIDD's goals is to help promote society awareness for these individuals and help reduce stigmas that society has of these individuals. -
Autism in America
Dr. Leo Kanner at John Hopkins University introduced the term Autism in America. In his paper Autistic Disturbance of Affective Contact he described the behaviors of children with infintile Autism. Dr. Kanner was the first in the US to put a title to the combination of behaviors that some children were exhibiting. -
Mary Cariola Children's Center Opens
Mary Cariola saw that her nephew Butchie with complex intellectual and physical disabilities had no school that would take him, so she opened up a school for him and other children like him, starting with 8 students. Decades later the agency has 6 residential homes and 60 classrooms for students with severe disabilities, coming from 10 counties. The school is a leader in the region for education in complex disabilities.
(*School that I work at)
http://marycariola.org/Home/WhoWeAre/AboutUs.aspx -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal did not stand in education and that it violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Although this case did not fully racially desegregate schools, it took a step forward for African American students. This case was referred back to later in American history when disability activists wanted students with disabilities to not be segregated from their non-disabled peers.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html -
States begin special education
States started to pass laws that provided funding for special education which allowed for more special education programs to be started. In the 1960s special education started to become more widespread and available for more students who needed the services. -
PARC vs Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Parents of a boy who had been denied schooling because of his intellectual disability, brought this issues to the courts over the school district saying they did not have to educate him due to his low mental age. This court case ruled that all children in Pennsylvania, even those with intellectual disabilities, should receive an education. It guaranteed a free and appropriate education for children ages 6-21 in the state.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtFmp3XduaQ -
Rehabilitation Act- Section 504
This legislation prevents any organization, including schools, that receives federal funds from discriminating against an individual with a disability. For schools, if a child does not qualify for an individualized education plan, if the child has a disability that affects their learning in the classroom, they can receive a 504 plan that includes modification and accommodations to help them in school. -
Education For All Handicapped Children Act
This legislation implemented free appropriate public education (FAPE) and individualized education plans (IEPs) for students in special education. EHA allowed many students with disabilities to be included in school for the first time. Students who had qualifying disabilities were to receive lesson plans that provided content to them in a fashion and level that they could best learn from. This act would later be renamed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). -
2004 IDEA reauthorization
In response to No Child Left Behind, IDEA was updated and reauthorized in 2004 to better ensure that students with disabilities were receiving a quality free and appropriate public education (FAPE) that was using scientifically based methods. All students now must take state assessments whether with accommodations, modifications or alternative assessments. The six key principles of IDEA are zero reject, FAPE, LRE, nondiscriminatory evaluations, parental participation and procedural safeguards. -
Autism Speaks Founded
Suzanne and Bob Wright created Autism Speaks because of their grandson who was diagnosed with Autism. It is now one of the leading organizations for raising ASD awareness and funding research on ASD. Autism speaks supports the whole family and individual who has Autism through literature and support groups. They also work to create awareness in the community and raise funds for research.
https://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us/our-founders
