One could argue that the early twentieth century was the low point in the history of education for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Why is this, and how does the education of individuals with intellectual disabilities today compare with the education these individuals received during that time?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Following a period of relative optimism regarding the possibility of educating children with even the most severe intellectual disabilities, the early twentieth century was marked by a period of pessimism that saw a rise in custodial care (institutionalization) rather than education and integration. Prominent physicians and psychologists theorized that intellectual disabilities-called mental deficiency at that time-were inherited, that they were accompanied by criminal tendencies, and that allowing people with these disabilities to have children would undermine the strength of society. Today, the majority of students with intellectual disabilities are educated in the same schools and often in the same classes as their peers without disabilities. Although their curriculum may favor a life-skills approach over the general curriculum taught their peers, there has been an increasing movement towards inclusion in the general curriculum, to the extent that that is appropriate for individual students.