SpEd 11 Group 1 Contributors to Special Education in Spain and Italy

Pedro Ponce de Len (1520-1584) Born 1520?died 1584, a Spanish Benedictine monk believed to have been the first person to develop a method for teaching the deaf. Achieved his first success with Gaspard Burgos, a deaf man who, because of his difficulty with oral communication, had been denied membership in the Benedictine order. Under Ponces tutelage, Burgos learned to speak so that he could make his confession. Burgos later wrote a number of books. Ponce taught several other deaf persons to speak and write, although details of his methods either were never recorded or have been lost. He apparently traced letters and indicated pronunciation with lip movements to introduce and develop speech among his students. Juan Pablo Bonet (1560-1620) Born on 1560, Torres de Berrellen, Spaindied 1620, Spanish cleric and educator who pioneered in the education of the deaf. Helped develop one of the earliest and most successful methods for educating the deaf and improving their verbal and nonverbal communication skills. His multidimensional approach, based on the work of Pedro Ponce de Len (c. 152084), is detailed in his Reduction of the Letters of the Alphabet and Method of Teaching Deaf-Mutes to Speak). He used every technique available in developing this approach. Beginning with the study of written words, Bonet taught the phonetic values of the letters, emphasizing the correct positioning of the lips and tongue needed for clear articulation. He also taught manual signs and a finger alphabet. Maria Montessori (1890s-1900s) An Italian pediatrician who became an educator and the innovator of a unique method of training young mentally retarded and culturally deprived children in Rome in the 1890s and early 1900s. Her approach emphasized self-education through specially designed didactic materials for sensorimotor training; development of the senses was the keynote of the system. Dr. Rafaele Tortora Spoke about the history of inclusion in Italy, saying how socialization was the main goal in the early years of integration, but in later years there was increasing emphasis on academics for students with disabilities. This emphasis was reinforced by National Law 711 which was passed in 1992. Explained how the intention of this law is to involve the entire class and school with the academic progress of students with disabilities. He also said that a "good special education teacher works more with the regular education teacher than with the student" and both are to stress the "positive selective description;" that is, a teaching approach that works on what the student can do, not on what the student cannot do. Dr. Adriano Milani-Comparetti, a neuropsychiatrist Maintained that children belonged at home with their families and the necessary therapies are to be made available for them. These beginnings encouraged some parents to enroll their children with disabilities in regular schools, pushing school districts to integrate students with severe disabilities before the first national law was passed in 1971. Began day centers in the major cities of Tuscany to make available outpatient services. Torrigiani became a diagnostic center where families could come for a succession of days

SpEd 11 Group 1 Contributors to Special Education in Spain and Italy

with overnight accommodations to join with doctors and therapists to plan services and supports. Together, families and professionals affirmed the abilities of the child at the same time that they identified disabilities.