DEBORAH LONGORIA  Psychology of Exceptional Children  Dr. Michael Wiebe  Texas Woman’s University  September 10, 2010

HISTORY OF THE EVENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION 34 B.C to 2002 A.D.

34 B.C.  Imperial Rome was under the control of Augustus.  The deaf Quintus Pedius is taught to paint.

130 – 200A.D.  Galen offered medical treatment, much of it founded on Hippocratic dictums.

4 TH CENTURY A.D.  The rise of monasticism.  1 st hospices are established for the blind.  384 A.D. Aristotle’s philosophy required the derogatory view of exceptional persons.

533 A.D.*  The Code of Justinian.  Corpus Juris Civilis compiled all laws allowing or denying rights and responsibilities to the different grades of handicap.  Legal mandates describe and classify disabled persons in great detail.

1247 A.D.  The 6 th and 13 th centuries saw the implementation of asylums.  1247 – St Mary’s of Bethlehem was the first asylum established in London.

1500 A.D.  Height of the Renaissance period.  Marginal improvements for handicapped persons appear.

1550 A.D.  Gironimo Cardano develops the first form of Braille.

1578 A.D.  Pedro Ponce de Leon undertakes the first authenticated education of handicapped persons. He worked in Benedictine monasteries in Spain teaching the deaf children of wealthy families.  His was the first formal, systematic instruction of the disabled.

1620 A.D.  Jean Pablo Bonet writes what is essentially the first book on Special Education, Simplification of the Letters of the Alphabet and a Method of Teaching Deaf Mutes to Speak.  He continued DeLeon’s work.

1623 A. D.  Sir Kenelm Digby travels to Spain with King Charles I. He meets Bonet’s student Luis de Valesco.

1630 A.D.  St. Vincent de Paul established the first men’s asylum in Paris – Bicetre.  St. Vincent established the first women’s asylum in Paris - Salpetriere.

1644 A.D.  Digby writes Treatise on the Nature of Bodies, a recitation of DeLeon and Bonet’s work.

1662 A.D.  The Royal Society of London was established, receiving their charter.  The Society inspires philosophical inquiry into the nature of language and the teaching of deaf – blind individuals.

1676 A.D.  St. Mary’s of Bethlehem re-established after the “Great Fire” in London.

1690 A.D.  John Locke publishes his essay, “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”.

1694 A.D.  John Conrad Ammon is the first to focus on speech and language development. He believed speech was the “only means for the expression of language”.  He wrote Surdus Loqueno (The Talking Deafman).

1700 A.D.*  Ammon publishes “Dissertatio de loquela”.  Legal mandates denied equal rights to disabled citizens.  Theological canons excluded disabled persons from church membership.  Mid 1700’s, Britain and Europe turned for the 1 st time to systematic instruction of disabled persons.

1720 A.D.  Daniel DeFoe writes The History of the Life and Surprising Adventures of Mr. Duncan Campbell, an expose’ of the problems of deaf people.

1749 A.D.  Denis Diderot publishes his study on blind people.

1760 A.D.  Abbe’ Charles Michel de l’Epee founds a school for deaf persons in Paris.

1784 A.D.  Valentin Hauy establishes a school for the blind in Paris.

1791 A.D.  The first British school for the blind opens.

1793 A.D.  Philippe Pinel intervenes in cases pertaining to the insane at Bicetre.

1825 A.D.  Public hospitals for the insane are opened in Britain.

1826 A.D.  G. M. A. Ferrus opens a school for the mentally handicapped at Bicetre.  Winzer (1993)

1840 A. D. *  Rhode Island establishes compulsory education.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1841 A.D.  The first school for the mentally retarded opens in Paris.  Winzer (1993)

1846 A.D.*  Britain opens it’s first public school for the mentally retarded.  Massachusetts establishes compulsory schooling.  Childbook (2010)

1890 A.D.  Jean Pablo Bonet’s work translated into English and popular in England.  Winzer (1993)

1918 A.D.*  All states within the United States mandate compulsory education.  Although there are some laws in effect, disabled children are routinely excluded from public school.  Pardine (2002); Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1922 A.D.  The Council for Exceptional Children is organized as a major professional organization for Special Education teachers.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1930 A.D.  Child guidance and counseling services begin.

1931 A.D.  Bradley Home was established as the first psychiatric hospital for children in East Providence, Rhode Island.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1933 A.D.  Parents began to form Special Education advocacy groups having a great effect on educational legislation.  Pardine (2002)

1947 A.D.  The American Association on Mental Deficiency is formed. They hold their first convention.  Learning RX (2010)

1950 A.D.  Special Education becomes an identifiable part of the urban public school system in nearly every school district.  Also in the 1950’s the United Cerebral Palsy Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and John F. Kennedy’s Panel on Mental Retardation are formed  The National Association for Retarded Citizens is formed. It is later renamed ARC/USA.  Learning RX (2010); Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1951 A.D.  The first institute for research on exceptional children is started at the University of Illinois.  The phrases “slow learner” and “learning disability” are coined.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1954 A.D.*  Brown vs. the Board of Education confirms equal protection under the law for minorities, effectively providing the same protection for handicapped individuals.  Pardine (2002)

1960 A.D.  Special Education instructors teach students in a continuum of settings that include hospitals, schools, specialized day schools, and special classes in public schools.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1963 A.D.  The Association for Children with Learning Disabilities established.

1964 A.D. *  The Civil Rights Act is specifically aimed at desegregating schools.  Childbook (2010)

1965 A.D. *  The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) forms Head Start, establishes free lunches, and special education mandates.

1971 A.D. *  The Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) files a class action law suit against the Commonwealth. All children ages 6 through 21 are provided free public education in the least restrictive alternative.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1973 A.D. *  The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination of persons involved in programs receiving federal financial assistance.

1975 A.D.*  On November 29 th, the “Education for all Handicapped Children Act (Public Law ) is passed.  The law became effective in October  The law protected the rights of individuals needs and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities and their families. Individual Education Plans are instituted.  The law became the foundation for federal funding of Special Ed.  Learning Rx (2010); Pardine (2002)

1980 A.D.  The Regular Education Institute (REI) attempts to return responsibility of special education to neighborhood schools.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1982 A.D. *  The Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District vs. Rawley decision of the Supreme Court clarified the level of services afforded students with special needs. Services were expected to provide “some benefit” to students.

1983 A.D. *  The Education for All Handicapped Children Act is expanded to include parent training.  The law also established information centers at the state level.  Learning Rx (2010)

1986 A.D.  Early intervention programs for infants and educational services for pre-schoolers are added.

1990’S A.D. *  The Education for all Handicapped Children Act is re-named IDEA and services are expanded.  IDEA requires public schools to provide free appropriate public education for all children regardless of physical handicap; mental retardation; speech, vision, or language problems; emotional or behavioral problems; and other learning disorders.  “Least restrictive environment” is also mandated.  Learning Rx (2010); Pardine (2002)

1990’S A.D.  The 1990’s also included the full inclusion movement seeking all education to be in the regular classroom setting with a single, unified and responsive education system.  Ackerman, Jaeger, Smith (2002)

1997 A.D. *  IDEA is re-authorized and kept in force.  Pardine (2002)

2002 A.D.*  President George Bush appoints a 21 member panel, The President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education”. No teachers are included on the panel.  “No Child Left Behind” is instituted..  Pardine (2002); Childbook (2010)  * legislative and judicial events

REFERENCES Ackerman, P., Jaeger, R., Smith, A. (2002) The History of Special Education. Education Encyclopedia. Farmington Hills, Michigan, The Gale Group. Major Events in American Education , retrieved 09/ Pardine, Priscilla (Spring 2002) The History of Special Education. Rethinking Schools, 16(3). The History of Special Education – the Grassroots Advocacy , retrieved 09/03/ Winzer, Margret (1993) The History of Special Education: from Isolation to Integration. Washington D.C., Gallaudet University.