On points connected with the education of feeble-minded children : being an introduction to a discussion in the Section of Psychology at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association, Bristol, August, 1894 / by G.E. Shuttleworth.

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

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On points connected with the education of feeble-minded children : being an introduction to a discussion in the Section of Psychology at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association, Bristol, August, 1894 / by 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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    Reprinted for the Author from tlio British Medical Journal, Sept. 8th, 1894. ON POINTS CONNECTED WITH THE EDUCATION OF FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN. Being an Introduction to a Discussion in the Section of Psychology at the Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association, Bristol, August, 1S94- By G. E. Shuttle-worth, B.A., M.D., etc., Late Medical Superintendent, Royal Albert Asylum, Lancaster. The Numbers to be dealt with. This paper is intended to be in the nature of a supplement to the report presented by Dr. Francis Warner on the mental and physical condition of school children. From this it will be seen that of 50,000 children (26,287 boys and 23,713 girls) seen in schools from 1892 to 1894, 101 (50 boys and 51 girls) were classified as “feebly-gifted mentally,” but of course there were others falling under the head of “ excep- tional pupils,” including children maimed and paralysed, epi- leptic, mentally exceptional, and a few (5 in all) classified as idiots and imbeciles, making an aggregate of 16 per 1,000 who seem to require special training. In addition there is a large group of cases reported by the teachers as mentally dull; and although this group may be considered beyond the scope of a committee investigating the subject from the physical side, yet cognisance must be taken of them in connection with any scheme of special educational care for those disqualified by physical or mental incapacity from following the ordinary school curriculum. Indications for Training. To quote from the interim report of our Committee, “ the same scientific principles as enabled the numbers of such cases to be ascertained may be used to indicate their special requirements in training.” On these lines a few of the leading groups will be considered, and the indications for their educational care studied. Defects in Development. Whilst children with a defect in development form the largest class of cases noticed in every group of schools, it has been observed that “ under conditions of less favour- able training the proportion with nerve signs and the proportion who are dull rises. It seems, then, that efficient training and education does much good in preventing evils from arising in such cases.” Let us now consider some of the indications to be met to render educational care appropriate to these exceptional children.