In some countries the term ‘mental retardation’ or ‘mental handicap’ is still used to describe this disability. Students with intellectual disability are those with an IQ below 70 (in some cases far below 70) and who display limitations in self-control and independent functioning. Most children with mild intellectual disability are now integrated in mainstream schools, but those with moderate to severe disability still attend special schools.
When special schools and centres for these children were first established (often toward the end of the 1800s in many countries) the emphasis was very much on ‘care’ and ‘management’ rather than education. In the more enlightened settings methods were used to provide sensory stimulation for young children in the hope that this would encourage cognitive and perceptual development. For those who could benefit, some very basic training in daily living skills was provided, and some attempt was made to prepare older students for later sheltered workshop employment. Even in the first half of the 1900s some children with intellectual disability were still classified as ‘ineducable’ and were placed in institutions with no
educational program at all. Indeed, in some countries (including the United Kingdom) it was not until the 1970s that all children with disabilities were entitled to an education.
During the period 1900 to 1950, emphasis in special schools and training centres remained mainly on care and management. Some of the children were deemed to be ‘trainable’ and others ‘educable’ (terms popular in the United States of America). Any teaching that was attempted usually related to teaching everyday living skills, plus some craft work. Training focused on self-help skills such as routine tasks of preparing a simple meal, washing clothes, cleaning a kitchen, and so forth, taught by direct methods using demonstration, imitation, and much repetition. In addition, for educable children the curriculum began to include a very watered-down and sim-plified version of a normal primary school program, with some reading and number work.
The period from 1950 to the end of the 1960s in special schools has been described as the era of the Developmental Approach. The guiding principle, influenced greatly by contemporary practice in preschools, was to match teaching methods to a child’s maturational and interest level, not to age.
Activity methods were encouraged because it was recognised that children
‘learn by doing’ and that children make progress at individual rates and in their own ways. In particular, it was recommended not to try to force children to learn things they may not be ready to learn. Children’s play activities were encouraged as a natural way of gaining cognitive skills, communication and social skills.
The 1970s heralded the dawn of the Behavioural Approach in which teachers were required to engage in careful lesson planning by identifying students’ needs, setting relevant targets, translating the targets into a set of behavioural objectives, conducting task analysis to identify steps in learning, and then applying behavioural teaching methods (modelling, direct teaching, imitation, practice, reinforcement and shaping). The behavioural approach introduced greater structure into special school teaching and raised expectations for what could be achieved. The approach continues to be widely used in special schools everywhere because it is reasonably effective.
Alongside the behavioural approach (and co-existing with it) came the Life Skills or Functional Approach. This was really a re-emphasising of what was considered important for students’ greater independence and
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for coping with everyday life. ‘Functional academics’ began appearing on many timetables, and covered basic reading, writing and number skills, also geared to everyday life.
In several countries (including the UK and Australia) the 1990s witnessed a move toward ‘making special schools ordinary’ by encouraging them to follow a broader curriculum, as much like mainstream curriculum as possible (Westwood, 2001a). It was suggested that special schools should adopt the mainstream national curriculum framework of subjects and assessment procedures. It was argued that children with intellectual dis-ability have the same rights as all other children to follow a normal program of instruction. Many special schools have welcomed such a change, but some remain unconvinced, arguing that the whole purpose of having a special school is so that the curriculum can be different and teaching methods can be adapted to the children’s functional level. This view has become even more relevant because, compared with a few years ago, the population of students in special schools now comprises more students with severe and multiple handicaps. The relatively more capable students with intellectual disability have been moved to ordinary school placements under policies of inclusion.
In the post-2000 period there has been a great increase in use of ICT in special schools, particularly in the form of computer-assisted learning.
Assistive technology for enhancing communication is also rapidly increasing.
Current practices in special schools for intellectually disabled students still tend to include elements of all of the above methods and philosophies.
The following recent approaches have also been added:
◗ Snoezelen approach: This approach was first developed in the Netherlands and represents a return to sensory stimulation for severely handicapped children and for autistic children. A room is specially equipped with a range of colourful materials, lights, moving objects, sounds, textures and aromas (Cuvo et al., 2001).
◗ Intensive Interactive Approach: This builds on severely handicapped students’
existing responses and behaviours in a ‘natural’ way. The teacher does not direct the child intrusively, but rather joins in with what the child can do already. The approach is said to be similar to the way loving parents and
other adults respond to babies by reacting to their actions (smiling, touching, rocking, etc.) (Caldwell, 2006).
◗ TEACCH: This is a comprehensive approach devised in the United States of America but spreading worldwide for students with autism. The principal aim is to teach them communication skills, attending, responding, and social interaction. The focus includes teaching skills relevant for operating in the local community. Parents are very actively involved in the approach (Mesibov et al., 2005).
◗ At regular intervals since the 1950s, new methods for dealing with autism, intellectual disability and other forms of learning handicap have appeared.
Many of these can only be classed at best as ‘fringe therapies’. The claims made for their efficacy are usually unsupported by any hard research evidence (Simpson, 2005). Unfortunately, parents of children with severe disabilities are always searching for something new that may help their child, and they often invest time, energy and money in approaches that simply do not work.
L i n K s t o m o r e o n s P e C i A L s C h o o L m e t h o d s
◗ An exemplary document outlining the policies and practices in a special school is available online at: http://www.stanley.wirral.sch.uk/admin/
files/files/Curriculum%20Overview.pdf
◗ Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (2001). Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties. London:
Department for Education and Employment. Available online at: http://
www.nc.uk.net/ld/dump/GG_ld.pdf