The Research Institute for the Education of Exceptional Children（RIEEC ）was originally established by the government in 1963 as the Research Institute of Audiology and Speech Pathology at Tokyo Gakugei University. It was expanded in 1967 to include basic and clinical research on the education of exceptional children. The institute was reorganized in 1993 with a staff of 13 researchers, in two departments （Educational Assessment and Educational Treatment） dedicated to research combining assessment and treatment.
Although the main emphasis is research, most staff members also teach graduate and undergraduate students, provide in‐service training to teachers of special education, and engage in counseling and guidance for the disabled and their families in the neighboring community.
The institute holds several symposia and publishes the RlEEC Annual Report and the RIEEC Study Report of Teachers each year. Reports by staff on their research activities are presented at academic conferences and in journals.