The health and physical development of idiots as compared with mentally sound children of the same age / G.E. Shuttleworth.

  • Shuttleworth, G. E. (George Edward), 1842-1928.
Date:
[1894?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The health and physical development of idiots as compared with mentally sound children of the same age / G.E. Shuttleworth. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    amongst idiots as compared with normal children, all institutions for the education of the former class should be regarded as medical institutions, and be under the charge of medical men. Secondly, that the institutions themselves should be conducted with special regard to hygienic prin- ciples ; that their surroundings should be open and salu- brious, with ample space for out-door employment and re- creation ; that the buildings should be placed on a dry soil, be well lighted and ventilated, and at the same time well warmed ; and that the dietary should be liberal, easily digestible, yet rich in the heat-forming constituents of food. (Special arrangements must necessarily be made, both as to structural accommodation and constant watching when epileptic idiots are received.) Thirdly, that education must proceed on physiological principles, starting with the improvement and training of the bodily powers, with- out which no mental improvement can be expected. How these desiderata are attained by cultivation of the senses, by judicious drill, by objective teaching, and by suitable industrial employment, it does not fall within the scope of my present paper to describe; but I would strongly advise such of my audience as are interested in the subject to inspect for themselves the work of some one of the special institutions. It has been aptly said, that in a well-managed idiot institution the intelligent visitor will find a species of “ educational laboratory, where ex- periments may be tried, to the advantage of teachers and pupils of every grade.” * Dark and dismal though the work may at first appear, the patient observer will, perhaps, by-and-bye be rewarded by seeing the cloud lifting, and, as he watches the process, exclaim with Prospero : “ The charm dissolves apace ; And as the morning steals upon the night, M elting the darkness, so their rising senses Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle Their clearer reason.” * Report Mass. School for Feeble-minded, 1S77.