How Has Special Education Changed Over The Years

Special Education has changed quite a bit over the years. We’ve come a long way from where we were not too long ago. However, there a still ways that it can be improved. Having a sister with Down syndrome has showed me ways in which Special Education can still be improved, and must be improved for our children to reach their highest potential.

The past is a huge part of Special Education. It basically is our entire history of Special Education. It all started in 1817 when the first Special Education school in the United States, the American Asylum for the Education and Institution of the Deaf and Dumb was established. However, this was still not appropriate for special education. Special Education programs began to develop in many asylums soon after this Special Education school was

It wasn’t until 1922 that the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) was established. Then, nine years later, in 1931, the Bradley Home was opened. The Bradley Home was a psychiatric hospital for children in the United States. The Bradley Home concentrated on examining and diagnosing disabilities. Special Education in the early to mid 1900’s moved at a slow pace. It wasn’t until 1950 that SPED became an identifiable part of public education. In 1951, The University of Illinois opened the first institution for research on exceptional children. They researched “slow learners”, which today is classified as a learning disability. Ten years later in 1961, John F Kennedy created the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation. In 1965 the Elementary/Secondary Education Act, otherwise known as ESEA was enacted. This gave equal education opportunity for all students. This later formed into No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001, and was amended again in 2015 and renamed ESSA. In 1970, came a new era of Special Education rights for students. The Education of the Handicapped Act was enacted in 1970, otherwise known as EHA. Later, in 1975 it was