Noa thee Rec vit Cuice ay ( re Hynes fea Bi 4 Ore re ent thot’ Nes usta Meas a Sesnaee aienae ase tt alent: segues ye eae ety ite h 1 am ‘ ; ‘ ( Z ‘ ea ty , 4 . Cae bale re tie ‘ ' - : i ) tt + reece fins SPE Pah Py aby aah abe): st Poy wes PUES PM URE rah Bt ieee , Malt leaaes r Shes ; < i t ay 4 eae Merwe 4) 4 1heve by Aes 4 4 é He ‘ / Wide as tirianelaad ey 4 ee nie an West: hy my t See ‘ sy estes ie DUCE eo ees: rate ‘ Hee 4 * ‘ ene taee Me we rhe , were wen f ¥ , eae ee ‘ te ' 2 ‘Wer ‘ an a \) > " ; The Libvavy © of the Ny, Guiversity of salen pe Carolina ee ile Be “aay, €: ; y ~~ Se AP, . _— f J ep ee THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF i NORTH CAROLINA if AT CHAPEL HILL ENDOWED BY THE DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES LChO15 Gh NIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL H SE | 0143799 his book is due at the LOUIS R. WILSON LIBRARY on the ij last date stamped under “Date Due.” If not on hold it may be _ renewed by bringing it to the library. WAG as “ats be THE RETARDED CHILD: HOW TO HELP HIM A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS DESCRIBING THE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM METHOD OF TRAINING THE DEFICIENT CHILD IN RURAL AND GRADED SCHOOLS ARNOLD GESELL, PH.D., M.D. Director of Yale Psycho-Clinic, and Professor of Child Hygiene, Yale University 1925 PUBLIC SCHOOL PUBLISHING COMPANY BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS Copyrighted 1925, by the PUBLIC SCHOOL PUBLISHING Co., BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS Library: Univ: of North Caro TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: The Problem I. The Nature and Signs of Mental Deficiency If. Illustrative Case Studies of Exceptional Children III. How to Make a Special Program for the De- ficient Pupil IV. Where Teacher and Parent Can Get Further Help INTRODUCTION This book is a revision of a manual which was written by the author when he was School Psy- chologist for the State Board of Education of Connecticut. In this capacity he saw a great many defective children in rural and village schools,—children who could not be assigned to special classes or institutions, but who were for that reason all the more in need of special educa- tional consideration. The book aims to make practical suggestions regarding the treatment of extremely retarded children in rural, village, and city schools, who can not have the benefit of training in a special class. We can not afford to neglect the mentally de- ficient school child, wherever he may be found. We’ have not begun to do all that we might do for him. In the first place, we ought to understand and interpret the deficient child. The first two parts of the book are intended to help the teacher to do that much. In the second place, we ought to bring about reasonable changes in his school pro- oram and in his home life, to make the most of his capacities, and to safeguard him as far as possible. The last two parts of the book give definite suggestions as to how this may be ac- complished. 5 Although this little guidebook is particularly addressed to teachers, it should also prove help- ful to parents. Whether at home or at school, the problem of the deficient child is primarily an educational one. The present book deals chiefly with the problem of mental subnormality, but many of the principles and procedures suggested may be applied to other kinds of handicap. The in- dividual program method of approach may be used with any child who cannot benefit from ordinary instruction, and who for his own or the social welfare needs special educational at- tention. THE PROBLEM The problem of mental deficiency is one which we always have with us—in times of peace, in time of war, in school, and out of school. When America mobilized for the great war, the signifi- cance of the problem was brought home to us in rather striking terms. It was at once realized that mobilization meant more than powder, shells, guns, blankets; it meant.a requisition and classification of brains. Every effort was made to find the right brains for officer material and technical service. Great pains were taken to ex- elude from the enterprise of war every man who was nervously unstable or mentally defective. It was an employment problem on a colossal scale, and our government used every available device for finding the fit and eliminating the unfit. ) One of these devices was the psychological. measurement of intelligence. Prior to January 1, 1919, a total of 1,726,000 men were mentally examined and rated in thirty-five army training camps. The rating was made by means of group tests and individual tests. The Alpha group test was used for men who could read and write Enelish. The Beta test, conducted by the aid of pantomime and demonstrations, was used for all 7 8 THE RETARDED CHILD foreigners and illiterates. Neither of these tests depended upon academic schooling. Some of the best scores were made by men who had not com- pleted the eighth grade. Between April 27 and November 30, 1919, 7,749 (0.5 percent) were reported for disehares by psychological examiners because of mental in- feriority ; 9,871 (0.6 percent) more were recom- mended for assignment to labor battalions be- cause of low-grade intelligence; 9,432 (0.6 per- cent) were recommended for assignment to de- velopment battalions, where they might be given preliminary training and be observed to dis- cover, if possible, ways of using them in the army. During this same period of six months, 45,653 (3 pereent) were reported with mental age ratings of less than ten years. A large pro- portion of these men were of doubtful military value to the government they were drafted to serve. As in the army, so in the public school, we have all grades of intelligence ranging from A plus to E minus, from mental superiority to mental inferiority and deficiency. There is this difference, however. While the army attempted to exclude all the mentally incompetent, the public school must retain them. Whether we like it or not, the public school system must serve as a ‘‘development battalion’’ for the semi-compe- tent and definitely defective children who give HOW TO HELP HIM 9 but poor promise of ever becoming independent citizens. Only when the deficient child is an actual menace or an intolerable burden and posi- tively interferes with the welfare of his fellow pupils, is the public school justified in excluding him. But such eases are rare. For a long time to come, then, there will be feebleminded children in the rural schools, in the regular classes of village schools.and in many of the regular classes of our city schools. There is no reason for believing or even hoping that all these extremely backward children will be con- veniently excluded from the schools. There is no reason for thinking that they will all be assigned to special state institutions. In the great ma- jority of cases mentally deficient children are destined to be reared in the communities where their normal brothers and sisters are attending publie school. All students of the subject agree that mental deficiency is one of the greatest of our social problems. They also agree that the problem is so complex and many sided that there is no one simple remedy for it. The doctors alone cannot solve this problem; the psychologists alone can- not solve it; state institutions and special class teachers cannot meet the whole situation. Many minds and many hands must combine in lending assistance to the deficient school child. The regu- lar teacher, whether in a remote rural district, a 10 THE RETARDED CHILD village, or a city school, has her part to play in the management of this problem of mental. de- ficiency. Let us admit that a special class, small in numbers, with a special teacher, and a special program and equipment all adapted to laggard minds, is an ideal arrangement for subnormal children. Let us also admit, and just as freely, that we cannot expect too much of a regular teacher. Her responsibilities lie chiefly with the normal children, and she is even open to eriti- cism if she gives a disproportionate amount of attention to the deficient child. What we are pleading for is that this child deserves at least a little more than the average share of attention, and that this attention should be wisely directed. Our aim, in this booklet of explanations and sug- gestions, is to help the regular teacher to meet her responsibility in a situation which she is bound to face. And what is the best way to help her? We hope it is by making her natural interest an in- telligent one, by indicating what can and what cannot be done, so that she will not do herself an injustice with standards either too high or too low, as the case may be. We know only too well the aggravations and difficulties which often lie in her way, but we are also sure that it is a real, human problem, and that there are rewards in meeting it. Lf THE NATURE AND SIGNS OF MENTAL DEFICIENCY I. THE NATURE AND SIGNS OF MENTAL DEFICIENCY What Is Mental Deficiency ? This, naturally, is the first question. Mental deficiency is something more than ordinary back- wardness in studies, and it is something different. Ordinary backwardness is comparatively not very serious. A merely backward pupil will not craduate at the average age, but there is no reason to believe that he will not succeed in life. Ordinary backwardness may even be curable. It may be due to irregular attendance, to poor nu- trition, to adenoids, to haphazard schooling, poor teaching, defective vision, lack of familiarity with our language, and a long list of other causes which retard, but do not altogether destroy, nor- mal development. Now, a mentally deficient child does not even have the possibilities of normal development. His retardation is permanent, and it is incurable. He may have poor eyesight and many other de- fects, but they are not the cause of his deficiency. In perhaps a majority of cases his backward- ness is inborn; it is an hereditary or inherent handicap.‘ In three or four cases out of ten it has been an injury from disease or a similar eause which so damaged his immature brain 13 ion 14 THE RETARDED CHILD that he can not enjoy normal mental develop- ment. Like a plant that has been stunted, he fails to reach a full mental stature. He, there- fore, shows a certain lack of mental Vigor, and always a kind of immaturity. Unfortunately, we cannot in any way remove such a fundamental weakness and incompleteness. It is because the brain itself is incompletely developed that “we eannot make him normal. We must admit, then, that mental deficiency is an extreme, constitu- tional form of backwardness, which dates from birth or early infaney, and which is so serious that it will prevent the child from taking his place either in school, or in the world, on a full pag with his normal fellows. What Are the Causes of Mental Deficiency? As already suggested, they are frequently hereditary. The mental deficiency then traces back to a defect in one or two of the parental germ cells from which the individual was de- veloped. One of the chief causes of feeble- mindedness is feeblemindedness. If both par- ents are feebleminded, the children are bound to be so; if only one parent is feebleminded, some of the children or grandchildren are likely to be so. Sometimes, even in hereditary feebleminded- ness, there is no defect apparent in the father or mother. There is, however, a mental or nervous defect of some kind somewhere in the family | [. HOW TO HELP HIM 15 strain, which accounts for the condition. How important alcohol and syphilis are in the produc- tion of inherited feeblemindedness is not fully known. Mi In many instances, however, the causes are not inborn, but acquired. Mental deficiency may be due to some damage to the child’s crgan- ism, either in the prenatal period, during birth, or in infancy. A direct injury to the brain by prolonged pressure or by a fall may be the cause, though these cases are not numerous. In other instanees the poison of severe infectious diseases may irreparably damage the growing brain cells, causing mental deficiency. Or the brain and its membranes (the meninges) may be affected by a disease like cerebro-spinal meningitis. Finally, if a child has frequent epileptic convulsions in his early years, the after-effect may be mental deficiency. | When feeblemindedness is due to ancestral factors, it is transmissible. It is a pity and a -menace that so many feebleminded have the opportunity to marry and thus pass on the — eondition. Does the Mentally Deficient Child Look Subnormal ? Sometimes; but by no means necessarily. In countenance, facial expression, and ordinary de- meanor, he often is indistinguishable from nor- 16 THE RETARDED CHILD mal children. It is rather dangerous to judge too much by physical appearance. A child may look ‘queer’ or defective, and yet be perfectly normal. Misshapen head, small head girth, over- large or deformed ears, poorly formed nose, open mouth, coarse flabby skin, thick, stumpy fingers, ‘peculiar’ hands, weak hand grasp, generally stupid expression—these and other physical signs have importance only when they are combined with mental inferiority. It is much safer and more scientific for the teacher to pay attention to how a child uses his body and his hands, how he walks, climbs stairs, handles things, how he plays and works. For, after all, it is his mental characteristics, his behavior, that count. What Is the Chief Weakness of the Deficient Child ? First and foremost, he is deficient in intelli- gence. This is his fundamental defect. By ‘‘mental deficiency’? we mean ‘‘deficieney of in- telligence.’’ Intelligence is the most practical aspect of the mind. It is the capacity to profit by experience and the power to make adaptations to new situations as they arise or even before they arise. It is that mental part of us which means preparedness to meet the demands of life. And - this is just what the mentally deficient child lacks. To be sure, he has some intelligence, but he does not have a normal amount. He is not HOW TO HELP HIM 7 17 strong minded like his normal companions; he is so feeble of mind that he falls far behind in the race. He falls behind his grade in school. When he grows up, he keeps on falling behind. He will stumble into difficulties; he may fail altogether in the struggle for existence, as he has failed in a struggle for education. A man with a weak heart cannot climb a steep hill. In the feebleminded it is the power of mental adaptation which is weak, and they cannot surmount the obstacles which the requirements of ordinary community life present. They do not have the clearness of perception, or the mental vigor to grasp and handle even the ordinary problems of human existence. They are at the mercy of events. Normal minded people are at least par- tial masters of their fate. This has all been well said by Miss Mary Dendy, of Manchester, England. ‘‘To all of us birth happens and death happens. Those of us who are sane know, whatever we may think, that between birth and death we have the power, to a great extent, of guiding our own lives; we have the choice between good and evil. To these less happy brethren of ours [the feebleminded] not only do birth and death happen, but everything that comes between; their lives are one long happening.”’ It is a deficiency of intelligence which makes their lives ‘‘one long happening.”’’ 18 THE RETARDED CHILD Can Intelligence be Measured? Every person who is at all observant of human nature makes estimates of intelligence. He classifies his friends—and his enemies—into various groups:—stupid, clever, mediocre, etc. The school teacher estimates her children in a similar manner; and roughly separates them into two or three divisions: the bright, the aver- age, the dull. There is, however, one great source ° of error in estimating the intelligence of children. They are constantly growing, and it is difficult to keep definite standards in mind. A boy of. twelve may be doing excellent work in the fifth orade; the teacher calls him bright. Another boy of ten may be doing only passable work in — the same grade, and the teacher calls him aver- age or dull. As a matter of fact, the ten-year-old boy may really be brighter than the older boy, if we take actual age into account. Ability to do. school work is a very proper measure of intelli- gence, but a most important factor is the age of the child. And we cannot make an adequate | estimate of intelligence until we take age into full consideration. . Can we do this with anything like precision? The great French psychologist, Alfred Binet, has shown us that we can. After years of patient investigation of his own children, and of normal and deficient school children in Paris, he devised a graded series of mental problems, or tests, HOW 1) HELP HIM 39 which he justly called a ‘‘measuring scale of intelligence.’’ No one pretends that this scale has the accuracy of a clinical thermometer, which reads to a tenth of a degree, but it is a ‘‘seale’’ because it is made up of standardized units. Judiciously applied, this scale or one of its im- proved revisions furnishes us a rating of in- telligence. For example, it was found after numerous comparative trials on children of various ages that at different levels of mental development ‘children respond differently to a picture. A child of three will ordinarily look at a picture, and simply enumerate all the objects in it: ‘‘man; river; boat, ete.’’ On the average, say “seven cases out of ten, a child of seven, however, will describe the picture: ‘‘The man is paddling. The boat is going down the river.’’ Whereas at the age of twelve the average normal response _is an interpretation of the picture. ‘‘They are fleeing from danger, ete.’’ This is the principle of a graded intelligence scale. Five or six tests for each age from three to twelve or sixteen fur- nish the basis of measurement. What is normal or characteristic of a given age being known, we can determine roughly whether a child tests above age, below age or at age; and we ean tell how much he deviates from his fellows. We express his ‘score’ by mental age. He is actually eight years old; that is known as his ‘‘chrono- 20 THE sini CHILD logical age.’’ He tests six years of age by the scale; that is his ‘‘mental age.’’ This mental age gives us some idea of his retardation; but we do not get a true conception of his intelligence -cdliber until we compare mental age and chrono- _ logical age. The ratio between the two is the significant thing. This ratio is the intelligence ~ index. It is usually called the intelligence quo- tient (abbreviated, I.Q.) because it is derived by dividing the mental age by the chronological age. The formula is: Loe M.A. (mental age) “™"C.A. (chronological age) ~ If the numerator and denominator are equal, we get unity, or 100%, or an I.Q. of 100. If the numerator is 2, and the denominator 3, we get a value below 100 (1.Q. = 67). If the numerator is 3 and the denominator 2, we get an I.Q. of 150, which indicates a very superior intelligence. An . I.Q. of 67 or less, however, nearly always means feeblemindedness. If we use the carefully stand- ardized methods of the Stanford Revision of the Binet Scale, we may safely say that in children the following ratio between mental age and chronological age usually denotes mental inferi- ority or deficiency: 4:6; 6:9; 8:12; 10:15. It is desirable to insert a word of caution in regard to the application of the results of a group | mental test. The score on a group test should HOW TO HELP HIM ys always be considered merely indicative. The eroup test is for preliminary, not for final classi- fication. There is always danger of making some error if a group test score is uneritically con- verted into an I.Q. rating and a group test 1.Q. is not the same as a Binet I.Q. In all cases the teacher should not rely on an unqualified psycho- metric score, but should remember that this score is only one item among several to be considered in making estimate of the child’s actual caliber and vocational outlook. There is a general tendency for the I.Q. of any given child to remain constant. Once a real. dullard usually means always a dullard. If a child is definitely dull or deficient in infancy, he is not likely to vutgrow the condition. Likewise, and this is fortunate, if a child is definitely bright or superior, he is very likely to remain so in youth and in adult years. - It follows that the intelligence which a child has when he enters school, predicts in a general way how well he will respond to ordinary in- struction. To take the example already cited, if at the age of six, he is two years retarded as to mental age, his academic outlook is decidedly subnormal, for he is likely to remain retarded to the same relative degree throughout his school eareer. At nine the intelligence retardation of this same child is likely to amount to three years (mental age, 6; chronological age, 9; I.Q., 67). 22 THE RETARDED *CHILD At twelve his retardation will probably amount to four years (mental age, 8; chronological age, 12; 1.Q., 67). At fifteen it will amount to five years (mental age, 10; chronological age, 15; 1.Q., 67). Of course, there are important excep- tions to this rule; and we must not regard the I.Q. as an infallible measure of ultimate capacity. - But, in general, it is so significant that we are justified in saying that two years of retardation of intelligence at the age of six is as serious as five years of retardation of intelligence at the age of fifteen. One condition is equivalent to the other and usually signifies mental deficiency. Nevertheless, we must keep reminding our- selves of the exceptions. Only the other day we examined an Italian boy, who wrote a passable seventh-erade letter and could ‘do’ eighth-grade arithmetic. On the Stanford Binet scale, how- ever, he could score an I.Q. of only 65. We did not diagnose him to be mentally deficient. His | personality make-up is favorable; the quality of his modest intelligence is good. He has prob- ably reached the limits of his academic attain- ment, but he will doubtless be able to shift for - himself when he grows up, because of his normal | personality traits. Never forget that the per- sonality factor is important in estimating the outlook of a problem pupil. HOW TO HELP HIM 23 What are the Different Degrees of Intelligence? For convenience we may say that there are three grades or degrees of intelligence to be found among school children: average, superior, inferior; normal, supernormal and subnormal. By normal intelligence we mean that ordinary amount of intelligence which most children have and which insures their ability to meet the ordi- nary demands of life. Such children are neither much retarded nor advanced in their schooling. ‘They are neither far below or above par. In terms of I.Q. (intelligence quotient) they rank, according to the Stanford-Binet ratings from 90 to 110. Children with an I.Q. above 110 may be regarded as more or less superior by Professor Terman’s classification. Children rating from 90 to 80 are usually dull. From 70 to 80 is the region of ‘‘borderline deficiency.’’ Sometimes these children are classifiable as dullards, some- times as mentally deficient (feebleminded). Mental deficiency or subnormal intelligence differs in grades of severity. Three main grades are recognized: low, medium and high grade; idiot, imbecile and moron. The I.Q. for these elasses would range between 50 and 70 for moronity; between 20 or 25 and 50 for im- becility ; and below 20 or 25 for idiocy. These I.Q. zones are rather arbitrary and approximate. They do not have the accuracy of parallels of latitude. 24 THE RETARDED CHILD The British Parliament has defined the major grades of mental deficiency. In many ways these statutory definitions are more significant than the psycho-metrie. The idiot stands at the bottom of the seale. He is often utterly helpless, and he very rarely enters a public school, because his mental age is less than three years. The Mental Deficiency Law of England defines idiots as ‘‘persons so deeply defective in mind from birth, or from an early age, as to be unable to guard themselves against common physical dangers.’’ The imbecile stands somewhat higher in the intelligence scale. His mental level is between three and seven years. Imbecile children some- times find their way into publie schools. The Mental Deficiency Law defines imbeciles as ‘‘nersons in whose case there exists from birth or from-an early age mental defectiveness not amounting to idiocy, yet so pronounced that they are incapable of managing themselves or their affairs, or, in the case of children, of being taught to do so.’’ The most important and most numerous eroup is the moron. He stands near the border- line of normality. He often looks normal and so we allow him to drift into situations which he cannot meet. It is the moron who makes so many problems for the schools and for society. The moron mentality ranges in terms of intelli- HOW TO HELP HIM 25 gence age, from seven to eleven years. The Eng- lish legal definition of the moron is as follows: ‘*Persons in whose case there exists from birth or from an early age mental defectiveness not amounting to imbecility, yet so pronounced that they require care, supervision, and control for their own protection, or for the protection of others, or, in the ease of children, that they, by reason of such defectiveness, appear to be per- manently ineapable of receiving proper benefit from the instruction in ordinary schools.”’ How Many Children Are Mentally Deficient? - Our answer depends, of course, upon the standards which we use and how accurately we apply them. Terman has found that among 1000 unselected school children, 1% have an 1.Q. of 70 or less. By this standard it is safe to say that for a large number of cases, 1%. of the elementary school enrollment is definitely defi- cient. Our mental surveys of Connecticut school children indicate that this approximates the actual percentage. So far as the teacher is concerned this sta- tistical question has no practical importance. The figures hold only for a large number of cases, and the distribution of cases in any school build- ing or school district will be uneven. For ex- ample one rural school may not have a single mentally deficient pupil, another may have two 26 THE RETARDED CHILD or three. There are similar variations in oraded school systems. One building with 500 pupils may have only four deficient pupils, another of the same size or even smaller may have eight. The third and fourth grades are likely to have more than the sixth or seventh, except when the _ deficient children are promoted by courtesy. What is the Difference between a Dullard and a Deficient Child? It may not be altogether scientific to make a rigid distinction between the two. It has been maintained that grades of intelligence fade into each other like day, dusk, dark and dawn; and that it is arbitrary to draw sharp lines between the grades. For practical reasons, however, we insist that a clear cut distinction should be made between the dullard and the deficient child. And the distinction should be made in favor of the dullard. A dullard is not a very high-grade moron; he is not a super-moron. He is to be regarded as a definitely normal individual, whose faculties are simply below the average in quan- tity but closely akin to the average in quality. He is organized along normal lines. He may be slow witted; but he is not weak witted. He has considerable. mental stamina and_ stability. When we psychologically describe him as a low- grade normal, we do it in no derogatory sense. He may be backward in school; he may be HOW TO HELP HIM 27 rather obtuse in abstract, academic subjects; but in his natural sphere he succeeds. He makes his way in the world; because he has enough mother wit to do so.) This is more than we can Say of the moron; for as Tregold has pointed out, even the cat erade moron is lacking in “that essential to independent existence, com- mon sense. ’”’ A deficient child is so defectively organized | that he does not promise even the modest suc- cess in life which the dullard attains. The typi- eal dullard profits much more from experience, and responds much more to proper education. There will be borderline cases where it will be difficult for the teacher to make a distinction between deficiency and dullness. It is precisely in these cases that she should be careful not to regard as mentally deficient, any child who is likely to become an independent wage earner. and to be able to shift for himself in the struggle for existence. What is the Chief Characteristic of the Mentally Deficient Adult? The best, brief answer to this question is summed up in Dr. Tregold’s definition of feeble- mindedness. In his words, feeblemindedness is ‘“a state of restricted potentiality for, or arrest of, cerebral development, in consequence of: 28 THE RETARDED CHILD which the person affected is incapable at ma- turity of so adapting himself to his environment or to the requirements of the community as to maintain existence independently of external support. ’’ This definition is well worth mastering. We recommend that the teacher memorize it, analyze it and interpret it. Notice that the test or eriterion of mental deficiency is a social one. A feebleminded person cannot become an efficient, responsible member of society. He cannot be- come an independent wage earner or a self con- trolling citizen. A feebleminded man ought never to be allowed to try to found a home and rear a family; a feebleminded woman cannot properly manage a home and for this reason alone, if for no other, she ought not to become a mother of children. She does not possess the mental ability properly to bring up children. The feebleminded are, therefore, at once men- tally deficient and socially deficient. They ecan- not function as normal members of society be- cause of subnormal mental endowment. It is not perversity, viciousness, or laziness which makes them fail. It is a degree or a kind of mental incompetence. It is defective intelligence plus defective or insufficient personality. HOW TO HELP HIM 29 What are the Social Consequences of Feeblemindedness ? When feeblemindedness is uncontrolled by society all sorts of vocational, economic, and moral problems arise. Many of our social prob- lems are caused by the vocational inefficiency of ~ the feebleminded. Vocational inefficiency shows itself in so-called shiftlessness, unemployment, irregular employment, begging, vagrancy, pau- perism. This does not, of course, mean to say that every pauper is feebleminded. That would be a libel. But it does mean that feebleminded- ’ ness is an important cause of pauperism and in- digence. A large portion of those who drift into almshouses, particularly those who are not of - advanced age, have failed in the struggle for economic existence because of the feebleness of their wits. They did not have the mental ten- acity and good judgment to succeed from day to day, month to month, and year to year. For the same reason the feebleminded earn sub- normal wages at piece work; or are ‘‘handed around’’ from job to job without holding any position for a great length of time. Some be- come vagrants, ne’er-do-wells; many are was- trels, to use an English term. ‘‘Good-for- nothing’’ we often call them. As a matter of fact they are good-for-something; but only if we * put them into suitable surroundings where their weak intelligence will not be overtaxed. 30 THE RETARDED CHILD The foregoing failures we call economic failures. If the same individual fails along legal lines we call it crime, delinquency or vice. Economic failure and moral failure are psy- chologically akin. They both may be an expres- sion of mental weakness. It takes a reasonable amount of intelligence to recognize right and wrong, to keep definitely in mind the conse- quences of wrong, and to shape conduct in ~ accordance with the advantages of right. For this reason it has: even been suggested that every feebleminded person is a potential erimi- nal. As a matter of fact a remarkably large number of feebleminded persons manage to keep out of jail; but a proportion do not, and serve long sentences in reformatories and prisons. About one out of five of the inmates of peni- tentiaries is feebleminded. 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