Evening star., 1938-11-13
Children Who Talk
In Private, Are Mute
To World, Studied
Youngsters Otherwise
Normal Are Held
Hysteriu Victims
BY THOMAS b. HENRY.
Star star CORRESPONDENT.


Star star CORRESPONDENT.
CHICAGO, Nov. II. - Strange
cases Of children who can speak
to only one person in the world,
and to that person only alone, are
being treated by University Of Chi
cago child psychologists.
Two little girls with this strange
afliction were shown to specialists
attending meeting Of the Society
for Research in Child Development,
q branch Of the National Research
Council, here today. They may be
symtomatic, the psychologists be-
lieve, of a malady which apparently
is making increasing inroads among
American youngsters and Of which
adult cases have almost completely
disappeared, although they were
frequent 80 years ago.
The children are above average
in intelligence. They appear to be
normal in every respect except that
they are stricken absolutely dumb
to the world-yet their vocal cords
and hearing are normal and there
are no discernible nerve LESSONS.
They really can talk as well as any
body, as Is shown by the fact that
they converse normally with one
particular individual.
There is one 9-year-old who has
not spoken a word except to her
mother alone for six years. She
is otherwise healthy, normal child,
stands high in her classes, plays
actively and is popular with her
playmates. Another little girl has
spoken only to her mother and
brother for three years. Both chill
dren write easily and viii reply to
any spoken question by writing the
answer, unless the questions hap
qen to concern their speechlessness.
Then they cannot write.
Can't Be Made to Talk.
No emotional stimulus appears
strong enough to make them speak.
Thus they can't say 'yes" when
asked If they want ice cream or to
60 to a movie, when they know that
they will be left out If they do not
answer. There are locked doors
between their brains and their
tongues
The children are victims Of q
mental condition known as hysteria,
DR.. Mendel Sherman Of the Uni
versity of Chicago Orthopedic
School, which specializes in problem
children, believes. At various times |
in history, such as the Middle Ages,
1t has been very prevalent, and
similar weird states of mutism were
among the forms 1t took. But
hitherto it has appeared almost |
exclusively among adults, chiefly |
women.
Less dramatic forms Of hysteria
are shown by other children at |
the University of Chicago clinic.
It is apt to ape any sort Of malady,
mental or physical. There is one
little boy brought to the clinic
perpetually yawning. It looked as
If there we're some nerve lesion, since |
the condition came on after q severe |
attack of measles which sometimes |
leads to encephalitis, or sleeping |
sickness. in mild forms. Nothing
could be found organically wrong
with this child, however, and he wss
cured rather quickly by negative
treatment" He was instructed to
yawn regularly every few minutes. |
When this was made voluntary act |
he could not do it, any more than
he had been able to stop doing 1t |
before.
This child is still good example |
of how the condition develops. He IS
q 7-year-old. Brought before the
visiting psychologists and asked to
describe his condition he went into
a detailed account of it. filled with
medical terms, and described symp-
toms of about all the probable after
effects of encephalitis as If he had
learned them by rote. He was for
all the world like a hypocondriac
describing symptoms of all his non
existent diseases. Another 8-year-
old boy told of various non-existent
pains in various parts of his body
and complained bitterly of the delay
in removing his tonsils and adenoids
They have not been removed because
there is nothing wrong with them.
He has a tonsil complex.
Incongruity Of Symptoms.
One way OF differentiating hysteria
from some real organic ailment IN
the past, DR.. Sherman says, has been
the incongruity of the symptoms
described by patients. A common
form was the complete insensibility
OF whole hand-the so-called
"glove anaesthesia." It was q con-
dition which neurologically could
not exist and physicians knew at
once that they were dealing with a
difnculty which existed In the mind.
It was an unconscious stimulation
to escape work, to get attention, etc.
But for the last Is or 30 years pub
lie schools have been teaching a lot
OF physiology, so that the present
generation Of adults knows better
than to try fooling a doctor like
this. They have gone on to other
and more complex ways of escaping
from the worlds troubles.
The children of today, DR.. Sher-
man believes. are just about in the
status of the older generations In
the past, so far as knowledge os the
body is concerned. A good deal of
the condition is due to nervous
mothers calling the child specialist
on the slightest possible excuse. The
children are examined and re-ex-
amined. They learn lot of medical
symptomology, but not enough. Con-
sequently all sorts Of strange condi-
tionS are suggested to their uncon-
scious minds when they want more
sympathy at home, or to escape 60
ing to school.
No Specific Treatment.
The children who are .speechless