world history of special education
Disabilities, interestingly, have been around since 1500 B.C. However, because of the lack of knowledge on disabilities, people with disabilities were looked down upon. "The Greeks and Romans in particular held a very narrow sense of self-image, believing they exemplified the ideal human type. With their contributions to art, philosophy, literature, and science, they viewed themselves as superior to all other races. Physical difference, in the form of a different ethnicity or a disability, was seen as a mark of inferiority." Children with disabilities, not surprisingly, were scorned. What was surprising though was that it was normal for people to kill or abandon their disabled children; in some places it was a legal requirement. Few wealthy people would keep an individual with a disability as a "fool" or "court jester". The beginnings of compassionate gestures first started with the rise of Christianity. "By the fourth century A.D., the rise of Christianity led to more humane practices toward persons with disabilities. Infanticide (the practice of killing children) ceased and helping 'the afflicted' became a sign of strength."
People with disabilities however were still treated with indifference. "People with disabilities were considered 'different'; none were considered normal." Most of these individuals still served as entertainment for people, whether they were displayed in "idiot cages" or "ships of fools" (ships that went from port to port, charging people to view their "strange" cargo. these people were later abandoned at a port to "fend for themselves").
"The shrine at Gheel, Belgium founded in 1215 is considered the beginning of family care and foster care. People with disabilities were brought here because of the belief that madness could be cured at the shrine. However, the motivation was mainly religious ('if we take care of these people and treat them as family members, we will be rewarded in the hereafter.') ." People with disabilities were seen as "the result of evil spirits, the devil, witchcraft or God's displeasure." Sin, impurity, and undesirability were words/themes often related to disabled people. "The Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural movement that began in Italy in the 1300s and spread throughout Northern Europe." People during this age were more interested in learning about nature of the world and the nature/anatomy (Leonardo da Vinci) of man. This increased interest in science and the arts lead to the "development/advancement of healthcare and the understanding of disabilities."
One of the first actual education systems that appeared for the disabled was a study that took place in Portugal during the 18th century. "Jacob Rodriguez Pereire (1715-1780) instructed 'deaf mutes' and taught them to hear and speak by touch and vibration through muscles." Not surprisingly, this was a big thing back in the 18th century. Other studies took place to study and benefit the disabled people. "In the 1780s, Valentin Hauy developed embossed print and claimed that blind persons could be taught to read. These successful efforts to educate persons who were blind and deaf encouraged an interest in educating persons with other disabilities."
A famous story on the beginnings of educating the disabled was Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard and Victor, the "Wild Boy of Aveyron".
"In 1799, Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard heard reports of a boy abandoned in the woods of Aveyron, France, who had apparently been raised by wolves. 'Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron,' as he was called, was chosen by Itard as an experimental subject to prove the validity of the 'blank slate' concept: that a person could become, or be made into, whatever one wants. Itard had the child brought to Paris and entrusted to the care of his housekeeper. Victor was probably in his early teens, a child with severe mental retardation who likely had been abandoned by his parents.
Itard saw Victor as someone who had never been tainted by civilization, and who could, with the proper teaching, become the perfect human being. The 'blank slate' would be filled with carefully selected information. From a child who could not speak, would not sleep in a bed, wear clothes or eat cooked food, Victor made tremendous strides, learning to use simple communication, and interacting with others, notably Itard's housekeeper, who spent a great deal of time with him. As a scientific study, this was all very optimistic.
But Itard grew tired, not seeing the great gains he hoped for, and gave up his hope of Victor becoming 'super' normal. Living outside of society had not necessarily protected Victor from unnatural wants and corruption, as Rousseau's philosophy suggested; it had only deprived him of language, guidance, comfort, and human affection.
Even with his limited success, Itard did prove that children with mental retardation could improve to some extent. This would have a positive influence on many of the educators of the following century."
People with disabilities were still being treated poorly. During the industrial revolution of the 18th century, some of these individuals (along with other children) were forced to work in factories ("To get rid of 'imbecile' children, parish authorities often bargained with factory owners to take one 'imbecile' with every twenty children.") . Living conditions for these children were terrible; those who lived in poverty (individuals with mental/physical disabilities among them) were usually put into poor houses. By the beginning of the 19th century, the general public was more aware and knowledgable about disabilities. Thus the start of institutions (see national level for more on instituitions).
America, by the 19th century, was still a fairly new country. Schools were established for the children in the communities. However, not all children went to school. "Despite the citizens of Wisconsin's interest in the education of their children, many children did not attend school. According to an 1873 a report on truancy and attendance laws by State Superintendent Samuel Fallows, between forty and fifty thousand Wisconsin children did not attend school at all in 1870. Citizens cited several reasons, including the need to have older children help on farms, inadequate schoolhouses and poor teachers, and the long distances some students had to travel to reach a school--on bad roads and sometimes in bad weather."
As said in the national level of the history of special education, instituitions were closed down because of the treatment of their patients. Parent oriented groups fought to close these institutions to protect the disabled children from the worsening conditions of these instituitions. Several acts were issued to ensure adequate education for children with disabilities Individual with Disabilities Education Act, Families and Advocates Partnership for Education, Education for All Handicapped Children Act, etc.) . There are now programs for disabled children, most of which can be found at public schools (which must accept any and all students).
http://www.mncdd.org/parallels/menu.html
http://www.ru.org/artother.html
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~dalbello/FLVA/background/education.html#eauclaire