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ABOUT IIDC

Milestones of the 1970s

In early 1971, when Henry Schroeder joined the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community as Executive Director, the primary focus of the Institute was to address the need for assessment and the case management of children with developmental disabilities.

Deinstitutionalization Project

The Institute, in 1973, developed a deinstitutionalization project in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Muscatatuck State Hospital to move adults with severe disabilities to community settings. This project was the forerunner of today's community inclusion efforts in Indiana.

Instructional Materials Center

In 1974, the Indiana Department of Education, Division of Special Education asked the Institute to create an instructional materials center on developmental disabilities. During that time, four counties surrounding Bloomington and Monroe County received the benefits of this program. Today, the Center for Disability Information and Referral plays a major role in the dissemination efforts of the Indiana Institute and serves the entire state of Indiana with a toll free disability information referral service and a library collection of over 8,500 items.

Early Childhood Program

The Institute's program in early childhood, now the Early Childhood Center, was established in 1975. The Community Program of Preschool and Parent Education (PREPARE) provided an early intervention model program for infants and toddlers as part of the Handicapped hildren's Early Education Program (HCEEP).

Indiana Home Teaching System (IHTS)

In the summer of 1975, the Indiana Home Teaching System (IHTS) was developed to provide a comprehensive model for the assessment and delivery of educational interventions to preschool children with disabilities in the home. This program design was disseminated in Region V, which included Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio.

Project ASSIST

Training materials for classroom paraprofessionals were developed by the Institute in 1978. ASSIST: Associate Instructional Support for Teachers provided training and skill building for those who worked as instructional associates in special education classrooms throughout Indiana. ASSIST was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the Indiana Department of Education, Division of Special Education.