Idiocy

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

a condition defined by Ireland as "mental deficiency or extreme stupidity depending upon malnutrition or disease of the brain occurring either before birth or before the evolution of the mental faculties in childhood; while imbecility is generally used to denote a less decided degree of such mental incapacity." The difference between both conditions and dementia is that the dement was once sane and responsible, the idiot and the imbecile never developed mental capacity at all; they remained arrested children. The name amentia has been given to idiocy. There are great varieties of idiocy and imbecility. Some of the lowest have no speech, no power of distinguishing between one perhatred son and another, no affection or , no feelings ngs of pleasure or pain, no power to take care of themselves, and can never be taught any of these things. In body such idiots are dwarfish, misshapen, ugly, with the features and expression of face often of the lowest of the lower animals, with no power of walking. This being the condition of the lowest variin the scale till eties, they rise gradually ally many imbeciles are beautiful in features, and reach normal bo bodily development, but are slightly wanting in some essential mental faculty. Idiots and imbeciles differ much in their capacity for further development favorable circumstances. under even Some can be greatly elevated toward the standard of average humanity, and can own even be rendered fit to earn their livelihood in simple trades of manual labor, while others cannot be in any way improved. They are especially subject to certain bodily diseases of degeneration, such as scrofula, consumption, rickets, and diseases of deficient nutrition generally. Two-thirds of idiots die of consumption. The great aims in treatment are to improve the bodily nutrition, the nervous and muscular action, and the habits, and to evolve the possible intelligence by an education through the Some of them have one faculty senses. or capacity fairly or even extraordinarily developed, while the general mental power is weak. Some are good musicians. Some can calculate well, while others are ingenious in constructiveness. Ireland classifies idiocy into 10 divisions: (1) Genetous, (2) Microcephalic, (3) Eclampsic, (4) Epileptic, (5) Hydrocephalic, (6) Paralytic, (7) Cretinic, (8) Traumatic, (9) Inflammatory, and (10) by deprivation of the senses. From this it is seen that there are many pathological causes of the disease. It is a popular error to suppose that all idiots have small heads. Three-fifths of them have larger heads than average men, and only a few (the microcephalic) are small headed. It is quality more than quantity of brain that counts for mind. The general causes of idiocy have not yet been fully made out. It is unquestionably hereditary in at least 50 per cent.