ABSTRACT
The “scientific” history of the education of people with disabilities in Italy dates back to the early 20th century, when several scholars and researchers demonstrated the need and possibility to establish development and learning conditions for children who had generally been considered uneducable (Soresi & Nota, 2001). The philosophy of the times was based on “social medicine” and “scientific psychology” premises, widely disseminated by Maria Montessori. Yet, these propositions actually called for the treatment of these children in institutions and in special education schools and, therefore, for segregation from their peers without disabilities. It was only in the wake of the civil rights movement in 1968 that the ideas of de-institutionalization, special education school closings, and the rights of all students (even those with disabilities and behavioral disorders) to attend public schools began to take hold in Italy.
