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CHAPTER 1
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Chapter Outline
I. Historical Overview
A. Antiquity: Prior to 1700
B. Emergence of and Early Disillusionment of a field: 1700-1890
1. Itard and the Homme Sauvage
2. Seguin’s Moral and Physiological Training Methods
C. Facilities Based Orientation: 1890-1960
1. The Eugenics Scare
2. Immigration
D. Services-Based Orientation: 1960-1985
1. Sociopolitical Influences
2. Trends in Service Delivery
E. Supports-Based Orientation: 1985-Present
1. Sociopolitical Influences
2. Psychological, Medical, & Health Care Developments
a. Behavioral Interventions
b. Genetics
II. Final Reflections
III. Summary
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Key Terms
eugenics movement
homme sauvage
humanism
inclusive environments
mental test
Chapter Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter the student will be able to:
1. discuss the underlying dynamics that affect the history of the study of mental retardation.
2. identify major historical eras associated with certain dominant trends.
Suggested Activities
1. Provide the students with a videotape of individuals with intellectual disabilities receiving
services in an institutional setting prior to the 1960’s. In addition, have the class visit a
residential service provider and identify things that are the same and things that are different.
2. Have the students read the book, Victor: A Novel Based on the Life of Victor, the Savage of
Aveyron by Mordicai Gerstein (1998), Farrar Straus & Giroux., or The Forbidden
Experiment: The Story of the Wild Boy of Aveyron (Kodansha Globe), by Roger Shattuck
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5. Show and discuss the graph (see power point presentation) demonstrating the changing
nature of the identification rates over the past 60 years in the number of students identified
with intellectual disabilities who are receiving special education services.
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Mental Retardation: Facts or Myths?
_____ 1. Mental retardation (MR) is a type of mental illness.
_____ 2. MR is a contagious disease.
_____ 3. MR is generally diagnosed on sight.
_____ 4. MR is a stable, unchanging condition.
_____ 5. MR is incurable, unalterable.
_____ 6. Individuals with intellectual disabilities comprise a homogeneous group.
_____ 7. An adult with an intellectual disability is usually a frequent criminal repeater.
_____ 8. The term “mental retardation” is merely a more pleasing substitute for previous
terms such as idiot, imbecile, feebleminded, and moron.
_____ 9. Individuals with intellectual disabilities come exclusively from poor families.
_____ 10. Individuals whose needs for support are pervasive cannot learn.
_____ 11. It is a relatively easy procedure to place an individual with an intellectual
disability into a syndrome grouping.
_____ 12. Individuals with intellectual disabilities are physically impaired as well.
_____ 13. MR is a condition that exists from birth.
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Explanations of Facts or Myths
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Evaluation Questions
Multiple Choice
1) The history of intellectual disabilities
A) indicates repeated events are nonexistent.
B) suggests issues and events are cyclic.
C) is not well documented.
D) is not relevant for understanding the development of special education.
2) Renaissance thinking encouraged a philosophy of
A) optimism
B) humanism
C) pessimism
D) skepticism
3) The person who tried to educate a young child found in the woods was
A) Sequin
B) Itard
C) Howe
D) Dix
4) Why does the story of Victor have significance in the field of intellectual disabilities?
A) The use of systematic instruction was introduced.
B) It highlights the need for separate schools.
C) It demonstrates the usefulness of intelligence testing.
D) It illustrates the fact that spoken language can be acquired at any age.
5) The person who developed a systematic methodology that emphasized physiological and
moral education was
A) Sequin
B) Itard
C) Howe
D) Guggenbuhl
6) The prototype for institutional care was developed by
A) Dix
B) Itard
C) Howe
D) Guggenbuhl
7)
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Special education as a discipline originated in
A) North America.
B) Africa.
C) Europe.
D) Asia.
8) The person who campaigned for better treatment of those who were economically
disadvantaged or receiving institutional care in America was
A) Itard.
B) Howe.
C) Dix.
D) Wilber.
9) How did the work of Dorothea Dix apply to the field of intellectual disabilities?
A) Dix observed a young child on the street who appeared to be in pain. She was then
moved to make a difference.
B) Dix had an adoptive son with an intellectual disability and she witnessed his pain. She
was then moved to make a difference.
C) Individuals with intellectual disabilities lacked a strong advocacy base and Dix was an
advocate for individuals who were less fortunate.
D) both a & b
10) Wilbur was the person who established the first private facility for treating individuals with
intellectual disabilities in
A) Africa
B) Europe
C) Asia
D) America
11) The person to establish the first public facility for training individuals with intellectual
disabilities in America was
A) Itard.
B) Howe.
C) Dix.
D) Wilbur.
12) The initial purpose of institutions in the United States was to provide
A) custodial care
B) education
C) punishment
D) housing
13)
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What was the impetus behind the changing view of society towards people with intellectual
disabilities during the Facilities-Based Orientation Era (1890–1960)?
A) Not enough teachers could be found to instruct the children with intellectual disabilities.
B) Studies began to show students with intellectual disabilities learned better in a full-care
facility.
C) Citizens became afraid that people with intellectual disabilities were dangerous.
D) Funding was only supplied for full-service facilities.
14) What was the result of the Eugenics movement for people with intellectual disabilities?
A) the enactment of sterilization laws
B) better education
C) free choice
D) better health care
15) What is the significance of the ideas expressed in Sir Francis Galton’s Hereditary Genius?
A) Galton established a theoretical basis for the inheritance of mental defectiveness.
B) Galton’s work seemed to catalyze the eugenics movement that advocated the genetic
control of mental defectiveness.
C) both a & b
D) none of the above
16) What role did Oliver Wendell Holmes play in the history of intellectual disabilities?
A) He was instrumental in the testing movement.
B) He helped reintegrate them into the community.
C) He assisted in the mainstreaming of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
D) He supported the enactment of sterilization laws.
17) The process of rendering an individual unable to reproduce is termed
A) neutered
B) eugenics
C) normalization
D) sterilization
18) Marcia is a seventeen year-old female with an IQ of 68 who works at a grocery store during
evening hours and attends public school during the day. Which Act is responsible for her
ability to accomplish this feat?
A) Social Security Act
B) Job Force Act
C) Handicapped Individuals Against Discrimination Act
D) Vocational Rehabilitation Act
19) The first national organization to become a key force in special education was the
A) Special Education Association for Disabled Children.
B) International Council for the Education of Exceptional Children.
C) Association for Retarded Citizens.
D) President’s Panel on Mental Retardation.
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20) The issue of educating all students with intellectual disabilities was formally addressed with
the passage of
A) P.L. 94-142.
B) P.L. 85-926.
C) P.L. 93-531.
D) P.L. 91-421.
21) PKU, a known cause of mental retardation is considered to be a
A) genetic malformation
B) metabolic disturbance
C) result of inbreeding
D) chromosomal defect
22) The Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) measures
A) daily living skills
B) IQ
C) verbal skills
D) social competence
23) Who inferred that environmental factors have a critical effect on IQ?
A) Doll
B) Itard
C) Skeels and Dye
D) Binet
24) What is the difference between Mills v. Board of Education of the District of
Columbia and PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
A) The focus for Mills was a free public education for all individuals with disabilities,
whereas PARC focused on free public education specifically for individuals with
intellectual disabilities.
B) The focus for PARC was a free public education for all individuals with disabilities,
whereas Mills focused on free public education specifically for individuals with
intellectual disabilities.
C) The focus for Mills was to provide special accommodations for individuals in
wheelchairs, whereas PARC focused on accommodations for individuals with hearing
impairments.
D) The focus for PARC was to provide special accommodations for individuals in
wheelchairs, whereas Mills focused on accommodations for individuals with hearing
impairments.
25) What happened in the 1971 case of Wyatt v. Stickney?
A) A child was not receiving fair treatment in the public school setting.
B) There was a lack of appropriate treatment to residents at an institution in Alabama.
C) Individuals with disabilities were denied access to jobs.
D) Individuals with disabilities were denied access to education.
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26) The right to education states that children with disabilities are entitled to
A) specialized classrooms
B) free and appropriate public school education
C) private tutoring
D) extra classroom time
27) Gina is a thirty-year-old female with an IQ of 61. Five years ago she lived in a group home
and worked in a sheltered workshop. She and the other five residents went everywhere
together and were required to wear bright orange shirts to enable the staff to keep up with
them better. Now she lives in an apartment with a friend. She also works five days a week at
the local library and is a member of a bicycle club. The change in Gina’s life demonstrates
the concept of
A) segregation
B) mainstreaming
C) normalization
D) all of the above
28) Why was Arthur Jensen’s writing considered inflammatory?
A) He implied blacks were intellectually inferior to whites.
B) He implied whites were superior to blacks athletically.
C) He felt individuals with intellectual disabilities were less than human.
D) He was in agreement with sterilizing individuals with intellectual disabilities.
29) Erin is a fourteen-year-old female with Down syndrome. She is currently attending classes
with individuals without intellectual disabilities. Furthermore, she is not receiving special
resources for her disability. She is a member of several extracurricular clubs and has a group
of friends with whom she spends time after school. This is known as
A) inclusion
B) mainstreaming
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b
30) Which piece of legislation protects the civil rights of people with disabilities?
A) IDEA.
B) the Americans with Disabilities Act.
C) Larry P. v. Riles.
D) the Rehabilitation Act.
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True or False
Directions: If the statement is true, simply mark True. If the statement is false, mark
False and rewrite the statement so that it is true.
1. Prior to 1700, knowledge of intellectual disability by society was quite extensive.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Prior to 1700 milder forms of intellectual disabilities as we perceive it today were not
recognizable.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. During the Facilities-Based Orientation Era (1890–1960), institutions in the United States
switched from the role of providing custodial care to one of providing education.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Toward the end of the 19th century important social forces, such as urbanization and
industrialism were occurring that would have effects on those with cognitive limitations.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. President Kennedy had a profound effect on the field of intellectual disabilities.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. The Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) desegregation case
affected policy making for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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7. The Civil Rights Movement impeded the progress of legislation for protecting and educating
individuals with disabilities.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
8. During the Supports-Based Orientation (1985–Present), the number of students identified as
intellectually disabled continued to increase, with a slight decrease in recent years.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. The Supreme Court of the United States has decided that schools must provide appropriate as
opposed to optimal education programs.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. During the Services-Based Orientation (1960–1985) the notion of maintaining individuals
with intellectual disabilities in inclusive settings along with appropriate supports took hold.
a. True
b. False
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Discussion
1. During the Facilities-Based Orientation (1890–1960) what standardized scales for measuring
social maturity and intelligence were introduced and what were they used for?
2. What services existed before the 1700s for individuals with intellectual disabilities?
3. What events triggered the eugenics scare?
4. Explain the phenomenon that sparked the medical field’s interest in issues pertaining to
intellectual disabilities.
5. What are the major historical eras associated with certain dominant trends regarding
intellectual disabilities?
6. Name three individuals who have had a significant effect on the development of the field of
intellectual disabilities.
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7. What sociopolitical events have affected the treatment of people with intellectual disabilities?
8. Describe the evolutionary development of the contemporary societal view of people with
intellectual disabilities.
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Answer Sheet
Multiple Choice True or False