HISTORICAL
Early records tell of Spartan parents who exposed their disabled children to the elements so that they would perish. Few other accounts are available, but in the Middle Ages retards were exploited as fools or buffoons. The Protestant Reformation found retards suspected of being possessed by the devil. The common treatment was to “beat the devil out of them.”
Despite the poor treatment of the retarded, the churches of Europe beginning in the thirteenth century began systematically to provide asylums for the less fortunate members of society. No treatment or education was provided, but a sanctuary from the cruel and competitive society was provided.
Before 1800, the prevailing belief was that mental retardation was inherited and therefore untreatable. In 1800, Jean Itard, a French doctor, began to work with the “wild child of Aveyron”. This boy, captured in the woods of Aveyron, was diagnosed with severe mental retardation. Itard believed that training and practice could reverse some of the effects of retardation. His efforts produced marked changes in the boy’s behavior. Although the boy never achieved the ability to speak or live independently, this was the beginning of treatment and education for the retarded.
In 1850 Edward Seguin, a student of Itard, arrives in the United States. Having expanded on Itard’s work, Seguin opened residential schools for the retarded. His complex and systematic sequence of training made him recognized as an international leader in the field. In 1900 residential schools were established throughout the country. These schools were conceived as training schools, dedicated to curing mental retardation. But the cure did not occur and the nature of these schools has changed radically. Rather than attempting a cure, they now emphasize improving social competence, personal fitness, and occupational skills.
In 1912 Maria Montessori, a student of Seguin, opened her schools for the training of retarded people. She developed a self-learning system that trains through the senses. In 1914, Charles Scott Berry started a teacher training program in Lapeer, Michigan. Shortly thereafter, the first university course on mental retardation was offered at what is now Eastern Michigan University.
ACTUAL TRENDS
The move from viewing mental retardation as purely hereditary to purely environmental has led to a contemporary position that sees it generally as the result of the interaction of these two factors. Treatment focuses on personal skills training to help an individual reach the highest level possible for the deficiency.
An important trend in recent work with laggards relates to the concept of normalization or integration. This refers to the right of retarded persons to participate in normal activities. Such activities include privacy, dignity, freedom, the right to enter into romantic relationships, and marriage. Special classrooms, although designed to provide homogeneous groupings to improve manageable training, specialized curricula that would be in line with the interests of the group, and the special training needs of teachers, have often been seen as wasteful and discriminatory.
In 1965, the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided special assistance programs for disadvantaged and disabled children in the United States. In 1969, 14 regional instructional materials centers were developed to provide ready access to valid materials and information.
The provision of free public education for all citizens with mental retardation within the context of as natural an environment as possible was mandated by the passage of Public Law 94-142 and Section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Presumption is that society is obligated to support efforts to integrate retarded individuals into the fabric of the community. Integration attempts to reduce the discriminatory aspect of being retarded.
The implications of these laws for education are drastic. Education is free, even if it means special education. The least restrictive environment allows a retarded person to study in regular schools if possible. Public schools need to be disability-sensitive, with facilities for wheelchairs or other devices. These requirements have given retarded people the opportunity for normal education and interaction in society. Special education is provided for the most severe cases where participation in regular classrooms is not possible. In both cases, the annual plans specify what is to be taught. This reduces the chance of ignoring children and going back to minimal training.
Likewise, more suitable habitability situations are facilitated. Instead of leaving children in institutions, it is demanded that more normal housing be provided. Although institutionalization is necessary for some retarded people, because of the severity of the retardation or the specific problems involved, these people should receive normal treatment as much as possible. Otherwise, group homes, foster homes, nursing homes, even in-home support are provided. The residential facilities are designed to be as colourful, warm and friendly as a typical home.
Whenever possible, vocational training is provided. Providing a means of earning an income gives retarded people a sense of accomplishment and worth. It improves self-esteem to be in a work situation and perform a task.
Periodic psychological evaluations are also required. These occur naturally in normal schools, where academic progress is a primary means of assessment. Because retarded people learn more slowly, more regular assessments are needed to check for strengths, determine if there are other underlying problems, and guide educational plans.
