The Codification of "Idiocy" - Out of the Shadows

From Mental Defectives in Virginia: A Special Report of the State Board of Charities and Corrections to the General Assembly of 1916

With the rise of industrialization and the moving of large sections of the population into cities, people with disabilities became more visible – not shut away from society in family homes or town farms. Alongside these demographic changes, the thinkers and policymakers of the day became focused on the “improvement” of society – creating reforms that they hoped would improve the health and living conditions of men and women.

While those ideals were lofty and well-intentioned, in practice policies arose that aimed to “fix” what was considered “degenerate” in society – including those with developmental disabilities – and to hide away or dispose of those who were thought of as irredeemable. In the realm of disability, this led to a focus on labeling people with disabilities according to their presumed usefulness to society or potential for being trained or changed.

On Idiocy and Imbecility, 1877 For the purpose of education we divide the pupils of the Larbert Institution into five grades: - I. Comprising those who can neither speak nor understand speech. II. Those who can understand a few easy words. III. Those who can speak, and can be taught to work. IV. Those who can be taught to read and write. V. Those who can read books for themselves. I find that most cases can be put under one or other of these classes. Where there is a difficulty it is generally with the third class, for some can speak who cannot be taught to work, though very few. — On Idiocy and Imbecility by William Wotherspoon Ireland, 1877

Text from Training and Teaching Idiots by Samuel Howe, 1840 — Training and Teaching Idiots by Samuel Howe, 1840

The country and Maine itself had been heading in the direction of institutionalization in a connected sphere – the “insane”. Maine’s first mental institution, the “Maine Insane Hospital”, opened in 1834.

1834 Resolve for establishing an Insane Hospital Title: State of Maine. In the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four. Resolve for establishing an Insane Hospital. Body: Resolved, That there be allowed and granted for the purpose of establishing an Insane Hospital in this State, the sum of twenty thousand dollars, to be derived from the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and to be paid out of the Treasury of the State whenever said sum shall be realized and received from said source. Said sum to be expended in erecting a suitable building or buildings for an Insane Hospital in manner hereinafter provided and described, on condition that a like sum of twenty thousand dollars be raised by individual donations towards erecting and maintaining the same, within six months from the passage of an Act, in reference thereto. — 1834 Resolve for establishing an Insane Hospital, State of Maine

The idea that some of those with developmental disabilities could be trained, and also that they were dangerous or unfit for society if they could not be, led to the rise of the institution. The earlier rise of the asylum or “hospital for the insane” fed this notion of building spaces away from the rest of society, to protect upstanding citizens from the influence of the “degenerate” – until such time as those degenerates could be trained to perform useful work and act according to the morality of the time.

Picture of steps with a line drawing of a person at each step and each labeled. First step, person sitting despondently with the label “Idiot” and the step labeled “Self Preservation”. Second step, person leaning with the label “Low Grade Imbecile” and the step labeled “Simple Menial Work”. Third step, person standing with arm on step with the label “Medium Imbecile” and the step labeled “Simple Manual Work”. Fourth step, person standing and looking up with the label “High Grade Imbecile” and the step labeled “Complex Manual Work”. Fifth step, person leaning as though to climb higher, labeled “Moron” and the step labeled “Work Requiring Reason and Judgement”. The picture has the title, “Steps in Mental Development: Where they stumble – the limit of development of each type. (Reprinted from the survey of Oct. 11-13). — From Mental Defectives in Virginia: A Special Report of the State Board of Charities and Corrections to the General Assembly of 1916, on Weak Mindedness in the State of Virginia; together with a Plan for the Training, Segregation, and Prevention of the Procreation of Feeble-Minded

Theme Alert!

Values

Who and what do we value in our society? How do we determine someone’s “worth”, and whether they are deserving of help when they need it? Are all people really equal – and do we treat everyone as equally human?

People with developmental disabilities were sent to institutions because they were seen as useless or even dangerous to society. Their value in a place like Pineland rested on their potential for being trained to do menial labor – a Pineland resident could potentially get a furlough or even release from the institution if they could show that they could work.

In general, people with developmental disabilities throughout our history have been dismissed, patronized, and dehumanized. Doctors assumed that people with developmental disabilities didn’t feel pain, caretakers believed that they did not need friendships or hobbies or someone to communicate with, and society saw them as dangerous and unfit.

There were also people and moments in history that shifted our assumptions about the value of people with developmental disabilities – President Kennedy’s experience of loving his sister with disabilities led to huge policy shifts that impacted people with developmental disabilities across our country, and the brave self-advocates who organized a civil rights movement led directly to another president signing the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The question must be posed, what is the value of all potential members of the community, with or without disability, to the very health and fiber of the community?