Past and Present Perceptions towards Disability

Historical and Legal Foundations

Era of Extermination (Ancient Times) 400 BC

  • The living conditions of people with disabilities were brutal in this era. 
  • Particularly, in ancient times in china they practice infanticide. 
  • Ancient Greece and rome: They valued perfection. 
    • Physical appearance, beauty and intelligence are important in those times. 
    • If a person with physical deformity they were either killed or abandoned. 
    • Others are kept as jester or clowns for nobility in the roman court.
  • Aristotle: Philosopher, the men was the highly evolved being while women is just a giant evolutionary step below. 
    • Along with those with deformities or disabilities. 
    • He further recommend that there should be a law to stop the rearing of children with deformities. 
  • The end of the roman period marks the beginning of the medieval period or the dark ages in europe. 

Era of Ridicule (Medieval Period) 14th c.

  • This era is the rise to christianity which led to more humane practices toward people with disabilities. 
  • Fear and obsession with god: during this period led the religion to provide basic services to those who are in need and to reshape the needs of people towards people with disabilities. 
  • Infanticide was discontinued and more humane practices towards people people with disabilities in sheltered communities and homes were provided.
  • This time people with disabilities were not killed but were exiled and are treated as a subhuman category that were not given human rights.
  • John Calving: preached the notion of predestination stating that god has already chosen those people who will be saved. 
    • He later on mentioned that people with disabilities are not among those who will be chosen.
  • Because of this disability was seen as a sin of the family or a person with disability.  

Era of Asylum (Renaissance Period) 17th c.

  • A gradual understanding of science leads to having a more harmful way and more painful way of treating people with disabilities. 
  • In this era due to the advancements in medicine. 
    • People with disabilities are now regarded as an issue that needs medical assistance. 
  • This era, people with disabilities as subjects clients as objects to be experimented on who are locked down in a certain facility.
  • In 1601, queen elizabeth of england passed several laws that require the state to take care of their poor and disadvantaged in which people with disabilities to be a part of this category.
  • In 1657, france had separate services for females and males who are disadvantaged.
  • 1793, pinel became famous for removing the chains and restraints from the inmates and different asylums.

 

Era of Education (Industrial Revolution) 19th c.

  • Social reforms and ideas in education provided opportunities for people with disabilities across different conditions. 

  • Pinel developed four mental classifications for mental illnesses and became one of the founding fathers of psychiatry. 

  • John Marcus Itard, a student of pinel, studied the case of victor the wild boy of aveiron.

  • Victor was found in the forest in his early teens  and this led to the discovery that people with  severe mental retardation which is now called  as intellectual disability can still have certain  improvements to some extent. 

  • Edward sagin a student  of john marcus  itard migrated to the us and  there developed some strategies that is still  used up to this moment.

  • Dorothea dix became an  advocate for people with mental illnesses and  other disabilities to have better services

  • Louis braille invented the braille alphabet.

  • Ann sullivan became the famous tutor helen keller 

  • Maria Montessori came  and introduced her prepared environment.

  • PWD’S are the responsibility of the state

  • Social darwinism came as promoted by Herbert Spencer stating that only the fittest will survive this further justified the eugenics movement.  

  • The beginning of special education teachers in the public school become aware of the increasing number of learners with disabilities.

  • Binay and simon develop a scale in measuring intelligence 

  • Pwd’s were given greater acceptance.

  • IDEA - Individuals with disabilities education act 

  • IEP - Individualized education program

  • EHA - Education for all handicapped children act

  • FAPE - Free appropriate public education for pwds

  • EFA - Education for All

Current Developments (Modern Era) 

Special Education
  • According to Unesco, defined as classes or instruction designed for learners with disabilities, and gifted and talented learners or LDGTL (UNESCO, 2017)
Inclusive Education
  • A process intended to respond to students diversity by increasing their participation and reducing exclusion within and from education (UNESCO, 2009)

Mainstreaming

  • The practice of educating students with learning challenges in regular classes during specific time-periods based on their skills (UNESCO,2017)

Integration

  • LDGTL are placed in mainstream education (UNDESCO, 2017)

How will we know if inclusion happens?

  • Presence - diversity inside the classroom
  • Participation 
  • Achievement

Accommodations

  • Change how the learners with disabilities, giftedness and talents learn the same material and meet the same expectations as their age peers.