History of Special Education

History of Special Education

Introduction

Special education has faced many changes during the last century. During this time there have been many opinions on the way students with differences should be taught and treated. This paper will discuss the history of special education during the twentieth century. We will also discuss the laws associated with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Finally we will discuss the current and future challenges that the laws have on special education.

History of Special Education

For most of our nation's history, children with special needs or disabilities were shunted aside. In spite of mandated education laws that had been in place since 1918, many students were denied education and forced to learn at home or be institutionalized. For the few mild or moderate disabilities students who were allowed to enroll in special programs in public school, they were often placed in classrooms separated from other students and denied a proper education. William (2008), points out, “Rarely was there anything 'special' about these programs. American society largely continued to view many people with disabilities as being crippled, feeble-minded, mentally defective, or diseased, under a medical model of disability.” These views and ideas often led many students with disabilities to drop out before graduating from high school.One of the first movements of special education in the United States started after World War ll, when several parents organized advocacy groups surfaced in the states. The American Association on Mental Deficiency was one of the first groups to form and held its first conference in 1947 to address the needs of Special Education in the U.S.Several landmark cases also ha...

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...ualized to the students’ needs, in an environment which best service the child. However, more is still needed to ensure that all students are being identified and served earlier, and that these service are more widely available to the students and their parents. As educators we should take steps to ensure that we are prepared to teach all students, and to help those students make a smooth transition into adulthood.

Works Cited

Heward, W. L. (2009). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education (9thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill

Myhill, W. (2008). The First One Hundred Years of Special Education in America? 1817 to 1925. Retrieved December 9, 2010 from http://knol.google.com/k/william-myhill/

Pardini, P. (2002), The History of Special Education. Retrieved December 9, 2010 from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/16_03/Hist163.shtml