Historical Perspectives in Special Education

A brief review

Ancient Views (BC)

Seriously affected seldom survived birth
Mildly disabled survived and contributed Belief in supernatural led to (2) different

views: Demons; therefore kill them Unique; therefore revere and honor Regardless, those with disabilities were isolated

An Ethical Dilemma
Over 400,000

babies are born in the US premature They are at risk for life long disabilities Often policy to resuscitate all babies weighing 1 lb or more

Greek and Roman

Early: Away from supernatural to natural

causes Holistic interventions such as: Diet Exercise Natural herbs etc Mind, body, spirit

Greek and Roman (cont)

Later in this period:
Need for military superiority Therefore, needed society free of

defectives Returned to previous views of disability Called Era of Extermination Individual is what he is, now and forever

Greek & Roman(cont)

Consequences of Philosophy:
Punishment: Chaining Left on hills to die Thrown off cliffs Locked away

Drown
Father had right to terminate childs life

Greek and Roman treatment of the disabled

Thrown off cliffs

Locked away

Chained

Middle Ages
Rigid caste system
Era of Ridicule Those with disabilities were:

Used as servants or fools

Some were still put to death Dwarfs were used as clowns

Overall, ridiculed for deformities and behavior

Middle Ages

Judy

Becky

Renaissance
Era of Asylum
Catholic Church accepts those with

disabilities as wards of state Cared for in isolation No education at first, but humane treatment Belief: Once disabled, always disabled

Industrial Revolution
Era of Education
Need for mass education, literate

society, and good workers Vocational Emphasis Sheltered workshops emerged

Early Education Efforts

Itard-wolf boy, multi-sensory learning
Sequin-training sequence Montessori-individualized and discovery

learning These were some seeds of special education

Pioneers in Special Education Maria Montessori

Eduard Seguin

Jean-Marc Itard

Turn of the Century (early 1900s)

Early: Biological emphasis
Institutional Care/medical model 1900-1950s some classes for the

mentally retarded

Turn of the Century (cont)

Late: Environmental emphasis
Veterans-rise in litigation and legislation Civil Rights movement in 50s and 60s

Contemporary Issues
Inclusion
Zero Reject Litigation/legislation Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Parents as equal members

Collaboration between general ed and

special ed