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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
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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 (con’t) • 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(con’t) • Consequences of Philosophy: • Punishment: Chaining • Left on hills to die • Thrown off cliffs • Locked away • Drown • Father had right to terminate child’s 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 Eduard Seguin Maria Montessori Jean-Marc Itard
Turn of the Century (early 1900’s) • Early: Biological emphasis • Institutional Care/medical model • 1900-1950’s some classes for the mentally retarded
Turn of the Century (con’t) • Late: Environmental emphasis • Veterans-rise in litigation and legislation • Civil Rights movement in 50’s and 60’s
Contemporary Issues • Inclusion • Zero Reject • Litigation/legislation • Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) • Parents as equal members • Collaboration between general ed and special ed