This article presents an analysis of the first schooling experiences of children with disabilities in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, through the works of Jacob Rodrigues Pereira (1715-1780), Jean Marc Gaspard Itard (1774-1838),Edouard Séguin (1812-1880) and Maria Montessori (1870-1952), identifying methodological assumptions that contributed to the constitution of the area of Special Education and Psychology. This is a historical research that considers theoretical production in the area of special education and psychology, contemplating the reading and analysis of books, articles, theses, dissertations and, mainly, texts, and complete works authored by the surveyed educators. The analyzes pointed out that, by providing conditions for the learning and the development of children with disabilities, the work of these educators contributed to the historical constitution of special education, as well as presenting the roots of the process today called social inclusion. (AU)