special education - Individual Attention, See Also

The provision of education to children who have special educational needs. They may be pupils who suffer from some kind of physical or mental disability, who have learning or emotional difficulties, or whose needs cannot otherwise be catered for within the normal provision. In many cases the pattern is to provide special schools, but the trend in some countries has been for such children to be taught in ordinary schools.

As formal education became established, welfare or religious groups for the care of children with disabilities often became involved in their education.

Progress in Special Education saw a major reversal as the eugenics movement took hold. The more scientific approaches, such as behaviourism, to studying disability, led to a new understanding of special education and the vision that all children could learn, no matter what diagnosis they were given.

Initially education was provided to children of school age – about six or seven. In the 1970s research into Early Childhood Intervention, the provision of special education from birth or first diagnosis, showed that the earlier special education was provided, the better the outcome for the child and the entire family.

Special Education changed with Wolfensburger's theory of Normalisation - that all people with disabilities have the right to lead "normal" lives, including being part of a family, attending a local school, and holding a job in the community. This theory led to the concept of Inclusive Education, where schools no longer provide "regular education" and "special education" but provide a service which includes every child, no matter what he or she needs at the time.

Special Education services now extend past school-age into adulthood, as a better understanding of life-long learning has been gained.

Special Education has a different quality in different countries. The political, economic and social pressures in each country has led to a different form of Special Education, with different sets of policies and practices.

Individual Attention

In some systems special education can also be implemented in mainstream education, by giving certain students more individual attention to their specific needs.

See Also

Adapted Physical Education Post Secondary Transition For High School Students with Disabilities Special Education in the United States