SPECIAL

PROGRAMS AND
PROJECTS
-SPED

-SSES

DEFINITION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

- An additional services which are

offered over and above the regular
school which is provided for the
exceptional children to assist the
development,
etc.
of
their
potentialities for an amelioration of
- his
A disabilities.
set of educational services or
programs
designed
to
meet
the
particular
needs
of
exceptional
learners. It is that type of education
tailored to meet the needs of children
who cannot profit normally from
general
education
because
of

An
individualized
tailor-made
education for each child with a special
need
- Specially designed instruction, at no
cost to the parent, to meet the unique
needs of a child with a disability,
including instruction conducted in the
classroom, in the home, in hospitals
and institutions, and in other settings;
and instruction in physical education
- Specially
(Smith
1998).designed instruction that
meets the unusual needs of an
exceptional learner. Special materials,
teaching techniques or equipments
and/or facilities may be required.

For example:

1. Students with visual impairment may

require
reading materials in large prints or
2. Students with hearing impairment
Braille.
may require
hearing aids and/or instruction in
3. Students with physical disability may
sign language.
need special
equipments such as wheelchairs,
4.
Students
with
emotional
or
scratches.
behavioral disorder
may need smaller and more highly
structured
5. Students with special gifts and talents
classes.
may
require
access
to
working
professionals.

HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE

G LO BAL
1700 Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard, a French
Physician is the Father of Special
Education. He worked with deaf children.

1773

The first hospital for people with

mental disabilities Williamburg, Virginia
plays host to the first insane asylum in the
US
1801 Itard discovered a young boy
roaming wild in the woods of France.
Between 19081 and 1805 Itad used
systematic techniques to teach the boy
named victor, how to communicate with
others and how to perform daily living

1817 The first deaf school was created.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet opened the
first deaf-mute school in Hartford,
Connecticut. This school was inspired by
Alice Cogswell, a neighbor who was deaf
1829 Perkins School for the Blind was
established. This is where Helen Keller
and Anne Sullivan were educated

1832 Samuel Gridley Howe, the famous

American
reformer
and
abolitionist,
founded the New England Asylum for the
Blind.
He was the 1st person to
successfully teach a person who was both
blind and deaf

1848 The Perkins Institution, founded by

Samuel
Gridley
Howe
in
Boston,
Massachusetts, was the first residential
institution for people with retardation.

1864

Columbia Institution for the Deaf

and Dumb and Blind was authorized by
the U.S. Congress to grant college
degrees. It was the first college in the
world
established
for
people
with
1883
Americans embraced the eugenics
disabilities.
movement by passing laws to prevent
people with disabilities from moving to the
U.S., marrying or having children

1897

Sterilization of People with

Disabilities
In the name of Eugenics,
Michigan created
sterilization law to
prevent mentally disabled people from
reproducing
1905 The 1st training for teachers for
special classes was offered at New Jersey
Training School for the Feebleminded Boys
and Girls
1918
Elizabeth Farrell founded the
Council for Exceptional Children

1940

The National Federation of the

Blind was formed. They advocated for
white cane laws

1945 President Harry Truman signed PL176 creating an annual National Employ
the Handicapped Week

1947

The Presidents Committee on

National Employ the Handicapped Week
was held in Washington D.C.

1961

President Kennedy appointed a

special Presidents Panel on Mental
Retardation
1975 The Education of All Handicapped
Children Act required free, appropriate
public education in the least restrictive
setting

1978
American Disabled for Public
Transit (ADAPT)
was founded

1981 The International Year of Disabled

Persons began.
During the year,
governments were encouraged to sponsor
programs bringing people with disabilities
into the mainstream of their societies

1985 The Mental Illness Bill of Rights Act

required states to provide protection and
advocacy services for people with
psychological disabilities

1990 The Americans with Disability Act

was signed by George W. Bush. The Act
provided
comprehensive
civil
rights
protection for people with disabilities

SPED CH RO N O LO GY IN TH E
PH ILIPPIN ES
1907 Special Education started with the
establishment of the Insular school for the
Deaf and the Blind, a residential school at
Pasay City by Ms Delia Delight Rice, an
American educator
1924 First law in SPED: Commonwealth
Act No. 3203 which provided for the care
and Protection of Disabled Children was
approved
1936 Appointment of Mrs. Maria Villa
Francisco as the first Filipino to become
principal of the School for the Deaf and
Blind

1940s and 1950s

Establishment of
Special Schools establishment of the first
SPED Center in the country; Baguio City
SPED Center

1954

Declaration of the first week of

August every year as Sight Saving Week
1963Enactment of Republic Act No. 3562
An Act to Promote the Education of the
Blind in the Philippines which provided
for;
a.

A training program for teachers of

b. a residential school for the blind

c.
The establishment of the
Philippine Printing House for the
Blind
1965
Opening of the course in
Organization,
Administration
Supervision (OAS) of SPED at
University of the Philippines

and
the

1967 Issuance of the General Letter No.

213 regulating the size of classes fro
exceptional
children
for
maximum
effectiveness

1968

Approval of RA 5250 An Act

Establishing for Teachers of Special and
Exceptional Children appropriating funds
for the training of teachers of the deaf and
hard of hearing, the speech handicapped,
the socially and emotionally disturbed, the
mentally retarded and the gifted

1970

Organization of the separate

administration
of
the
previously
established School for the Deaf and Blind,
the Philippine National School for the Blind
and the Philippine School for the Deaf at
Harrison Street, Pasay City

1973

1st Asian Conference on Mental

Retardation organized jointly by the
UNESCO, National Commission of the
Philippines and the Philippine Association
for the Retarded
1977 Issuance of Department Order No.
10 Designating Regional and Division
Supervisors in charge of SPED

1983 Approval of Batas Pambansa Bilang

344 known as the Accessibility Law an
act to enhance the mobility of disabled
persons by requiring cars, building,
institutions, establishments and public
utilities to install facilities and other

1989 Approval of RA No. 6759 known as

White Cane Safety Day An Act Declaring
August 1 of each year as White Cane
Safety Day in the Philippines

1998

Issuance of DECS Order No. 5

Reclassification of Regular Teachers and
Principal Items to SPET and Special
Schools Principal Items

1999 Issuance of DECS Order No. 109, s.

1999
Exemption
of
Physically
Handicapped from taking the NEAT and
NSAT

VISION
The State, community and the family life hold
a common vision for the Filipino child with
special needs;
he/she could be adequately provided with
basic education
Education should fully realize his/her own
potentials
for
development
and
productivity as well as being capable of
self-expression of his/her rights in the
society
he/she is God-loving and proud of being a
Filipino

PHILOSOPHY
The State shall promote the right of every
individual
to
relevant
quality
education
regardless of sex, age, breed. Socio-economic
status, physical and mental condition, social or
ethnic origin, political and other affiliation. The
state shall therefore promote and maintain
equality of access to education as well as the
enjoyment of benefits of education by all its
citizens
Every child with special needs has a right to an
educational program that is suitable to his
needs. Special Education shares with regular
education
basic
responsibilities
of
the
educational system to fulfil the right of the right
of the child to develop to his full potential

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The ultimate goal of special education shall be

the integration or mainstreaming of learners with
special needs into the regular school system and
eventually in the community
Special Education shall aim to develop the
maximum potential of the child with special
needs to enable him to become self reliant and
shall be geared towards providing him with the
opportunities for a full and happy life
The specific objectives of special education shall
be the development and maximization of
learning competencies as well as the inculcation
of values to make the learners with special

LEGAL BASES FOR SPED IN THE PHILIPPINES

Commonwealth Act No. 3202

The Declaration of the Rights of the
Child
Republic Act Nos. 3562 and 5250
1973 Constitution of the Philippines
Presidential Decree No. 603
Policy Statement on the Decade of the
Filipino Child
The International Year of Disabled
Persons
Education Act of 1982