Education of Individuals with Disability

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Education of Individuals with Disability
History of Special Education In the early 18th century, people with disability were often ignored, obscured, or put to death. First efforts to provide education for disabled students were focused on students with sensory problems such as the deaf and blind. During the 19 and early 20th century, schools that were specialized in providing education to students with disability emerged in United States and Europe. The extremely published story of Helen Keller influenced the introduction of education for disabled people in America. In 1887, Anne Sullivan who was Helen’s teacher said that he will not give up in offering education to the deaf and the blind, and she succeeded in teaching a five year old Helen how to communicate (Ashbaker, 2011, p. 25). Prior to 1965, there were no free education services provided to students with serious disabilities. These students were barred from attending school. Most of the students with severe disabilities used to put up in institutions. Many students who had mild disabilities and were not in a position to complete high school without any help did not have any other alternative other than dropping out of school. To appreciate developments that have placed disabled students in normal learning classroom, it is important to understand the legislative history that led to this move. Back in 1954, there was a civil rights case that involving Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education. In this case, parents of black students wanted their children to attend same classes with their white counterparts. They claimed that separate but equal is not equal. The ruling of this case formed a basis for potential legal action brought out by families that were demanding a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with