Many scholarly texts exist on what this nation has accomplished related to services for young children and school-age children in childcare and school settings. Prior to this century, the focus was more on societal attitudes towards individuals with disabilities and not on access to services or the legal rights of the disabled. Many children with disabilities were subject to abuse, abandonment, and isolation within institutional settings. As the Enlightenment spread and the rise of Christianity across the world, a focus on the medical treatment of disabilities emerged. Europe began making instruction available during the eighteenth century. The United States followed in the nineteenth century, battling decades of bias and stigmatization.
Early Intervention Services and Special Education for Parents and Grandparents 