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Handbook of Early Childhood Special Education pp 3–19Cite as

A History of Early Childhood Special Education

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Abstract

This chapter provides a history of the relatively young field of early childhood special education. An overview of the evolution of services for young children with disabilities and their families as impacted by developments in public policy is provided. The establishment and activities of the professional organization for early childhood special education—the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) – are highlighted. Advances in research that have informed both policy and services for children and families are followed from the 1800s to the present day.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Mary McLean

  2. College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Susan R. Sandall

  3. School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Barbara J. Smith

Authors
  1. Mary McLean
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  2. Susan R. Sandall
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  3. Barbara J. Smith
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary McLean .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florida, Newberry, Florida, USA

    Brian Reichow

  2. Dept Allied Health Sciences, UNC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Brian A. Boyd

  3. Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Erin E. Barton

  4. Frank Porter Graham Child Development In, Univ of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Samuel L. Odom

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McLean, M., Sandall, S.R., Smith, B.J. (2016). A History of Early Childhood Special Education. In: Reichow, B., Boyd, B., Barton, E., Odom, S. (eds) Handbook of Early Childhood Special Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28492-7_1

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