Historical Figures in Special Education

1. Henry Goddard
Cyril Burt
Donald M. Baer
Samuel Gridley Howe
James Hinshelwood

2. Henry Goddard
Brought Binet scale to America in 1908.
Participated in the writing of the first U.S. law
requiring special education for children with
intellectual disability in 1911.
Developed the Army Alpha and Beta group tests.

3. Henry Goddard –
some drawbacks
Nature of intelligence
Intellectual differences associated with national
origin.
Need for institutionalization.
Role of heredity in feeble-mindedness.
Kalikuk family.

4. Selected as a Top Five for
Intellectual Disability
Significant contributions to the field in his time.
Lasting legacy in special education through his work
in writing the first law addressing special education in
Congress.

5. Cyril Burt
In the UK, one of the most influential psychologists of
his time.
First psychologist to be knighted in 1946.
Eleven Plus program

6. Cyril Burt
Work with identical twins.
Credibility was questioned.
Compared with scientists of his time, his work was
viewed as very flawed.

7. Views of Psychologists
Have Changed
Genetic factors.
Measure of intellect is complex.
Environmental factors.
Self-contained classrooms are replaced with
inclusion.

8. Top Five for
Intellectual Disability
Incredible contribution during his time in the field of
intellectual disabilities
Innovative work on factor analysis.

9. Donald M. Baer
Director of the Department of Human Development
and Family Life at the University of Kansas from 1955
until 2002.
Developed applied behavior analysis.

10. Donald M. Baer
Studied people with severe intellectual disability
Methods included applied behavior analysis, which
dealt with socially significant factors.
Applied behavior analysis was first set forth in his
writings.

11. Donald M. Baer
Applied behavior analysis remained effective because
its methods worked and could be experimentally
verified and replicated.
Raised the morale in the entire field and aided efforts
in de-institutionalization.

12. Chosen as a Top Five for
Intellectual Disability
Quality of his work on socially important behaviors.
Other researchers were able to draw on his work for
legislation, litigation, and administrative actions.
An advocate in that he practiced good science on
socially relevant topics.

13. Samuel Gridley Howe
Expanded the Perkins Institute for the Blind in 1848
to include individuals with intellectual disability.
Predicted the dangers of residential institutions.
Institutions spread across the U.S. despite his
warnings.

14. Samuel Gridley Howe
Also noted for his work with the blind.
Brought blind students before state legislatures in
order to obtain funding for his school.
Known for teaching a blind-deaf mute, Laura
Bridgeman to read, write, and hold communication
with others.

15. Top Five for
Intellectual Disability
First to found a school for intellectual disabilities.
The school was replicated nationally, and despite his
warnings against it, institutions sprang up across
America.

16. James Hinshelwood
First physician to recommend a specific instructional
approach for students with dyslexia.
Made first attempt in the literature to explain word
blindness and to establish a scientific basis.

17. James Hinshelwood
Often more than one case in a family.
Similar to adults who had lost the ability to read due
to brain injury.
He believed dyslexia may be a result of disease, birth
injury, or defective development of the embryo.

18. James Hinshelwood
Concerned with terminology.
“Word blindness” later came to be termed dyslexia.

19. Top Five for
Learning Disabilities
First to recognize that a different instructional
approach for students with written language disorders
is necessary.
First to recognize what we now call dyslexia as a
medical condition.

20. References
Routh, D. (2005). Historical Reflections on Advocacy
in the Psychology of Intellectual Disability. Journal of
Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 34 (4), 606 –
611.
 Richards, L. (2006) The Cadmus of the Blind. Journal
of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 20 (2), 584-585.
Smith, D., (2007). Introduction to Special Education:
Making a Difference. San Francisco, CA: Pearson.
Richardson, S. (1992). Historical Perspectives on
Dyslexia. Journal of Learning Disabilities. 25 (1), 40-47.