Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-14

Representative of the kindergarten Press,
Mexico City
Uhoto by Harris Ewing)
training in the Improvement method OF
instruction and were heartily applauded
by their auditors.
The first paper read today was that of
Z. A. Harrington, Md, OF the Bancroft
School of Haddontield n. j., The
Relation of the Physical Body to Mental
Subnormality." DR.. harrington said In
part:
Modern thought views affirmatively
the idea of a human personality within
the physical body. This inner self is dis
tinct entity, energizing the material
frame It's power thus to energtze de-
ponds upon the ability OF the material
frame to act as a perfect agent.
This hypothesis has been most fruit
full in the study of mentally. subnormal
children. Miss Margaret Bancroft was the
first to apply it practically. Regarding
her work she wrote: mo matter how
broken or deforned the human being
may be, within that body is a personality.
and it is our business to liberate that
personality from it's prison, TO remove
the distractions which prevent the ex-
preston of the Individuality
"These distractions must be sought In
the nervous systems, for the latter lies
between the personality and the objective
world. Messages to and from the brain
traverse the nerve paths following lines
of least resistance. Injury anywhere
along the path increases resistance and
prevents the messages from getting in
and out
Problem Discussed.
''This is the problem of the subnormal
child. We must learn how to restore
broken pathways, to establish new lines
of least resistance to break through or
find a way around the barriers that keep
our little captives literally imprisoned in
their own brain cells.
1T is here that experimental psychology
comes to our aid by teaching us practical
ways of accomplishing our end.
THE most important question connected
with mental subnormality is it's preven-
ton. To prevent its development we must
begin by teaching the parents how TO de.
velop their minds and bodies by clean liv-
ing and right thinking, that they may
be well fitted for parenthood.
THE maternal health must be carefully
guarded; every precaution must be taken
to bring the little one into the world free
from disease or injury. The infants
nOurishment must he of the best: fever
commissions must be wisely treated and
not neglected under the impression thai
they are due to teething. worms, collie
some other slight ailment. The infec-
t1OuS levers. ike measles, WnOOplng-
cough and scarlet fever must be carefully
watched and their liability to involve the
brain never forgotten.
Early recognition of mental subnor-
malty is imperative, for the plastic, rap
idly growing tissues of the young child
are much more readily repaired and re-
nodded than are those of the older indi-
vidual
Recognition Of Subnormal.
At
we must be familiar with the normal.
We must know when the average child
can sit up, stand, walk, see, hear and
speak. We shall then be fitted to detect
any arrest in the development of these
functions.
1.-The care of these little ones requires
patient attention to detail. The physical
body must first be built up. Diet. bath
ing. massage and exercise must be care
fully studied. regular habits must he es-
tablished every slight ailment remedicd
and special methods instituted to
strengthen and develop the nervous sys-
tenn. Next we must devise means TO in
duce sense perceptions of light. color.
sound. motion, etc We must gain control
of attent ion and stimulate memory As
ISOLATION must be developed and an at
tempt made to awaken imagination ana
csthetic sense. There arc ways 'lnnumer-
able of accomplishing these results. anu
it is necessary to select the proper oilts
for the individual child. formulating new
methods and making new apparatus
whenever these are required lnceSsant
watchfulness and care are the price OF
success.
'In this paper the expression subnormai
has been used i'm preference to feeble
minded or mentally deficient. because II
seems broader and more impersonal and
appears to serve better as general term.
The words idiot and imbecile. so fire.
auently employed in the past. are fortu-
nately falling into disuse. Neither of them
is scientifically acceptable. and the con-
tempt which common usage has attached
to them makes their abandonment inn
peratiye for the children's sake. For
wears the Bancroft School has advocated
this step. and ii is gratifying to find that
of late it is being widely followed
.'Our state legislatures should enact ef-
fcient laws compelling the proper physical
and mental education of the mentally sub
normal This Is not only their privilege:
II is their right. And we--thei parents
and. teachers-have not done our whole
duty until we have insisted that their
right be granted them"
Welfare of the Deaf.
Charles S. Turnbull. D.. read paper
Continued on Fourth Page.l