69 
KEPORT OF A STUDY OF MENTAL ABILITY OF CHILDREN IN ONE 
ORPHANS’ HOME IN INDIANA. 
ARTHUR H, ESTABROOK. 
All the children in one orphans’ home in Indiana have been given mental... 
tests, with the exception of those under the age of six years. The Stanford 
Revision of Binet tests was used. At the same time the Pressey group 
tests, the primer and cross out, were given to all those attending school. 
A social study of each child has been made and, with this combined data. 
ehildren in this orphans’ home have been classified as: average, retarded, 
probably high grade defective, and feeble-minded. At the same time 
these children have been considered from the standpoint of placeability in 
foster homes or admission to the School for Feeble-Minded Youth at Fort 
Wayne. One hundred forty children, in all, have been studied. Fifty-three 
Qn 
of these have been found to be of average mentality, 37 retarded, 12 prob- 
ably mentally defective and 88 definitely feeble-minded. One hundred one 
of these 140 are wards of the State. Of these 101, 34 are of average men- 
tality, 24 retarded, 10 probably high grade defectives, and 33 feeble-minded. 
These have been classified as to their placeability in foster homes, retention 
in the institution for further study and training, and those sufficiently men- 
tally defective that they should be placed in the School for Feeble-Minded 
Youth because of such a degree of mental defectiveness as to be unplace- 
able in foster homes or retained in the Orphans’ Home. Forty-eight are 
found placeable; 15 should be retained for further study and training, 
while 88 are so definitely feeble-minded as to be a detriment to the institu- 
tion. 
The accompanying chart shows the distribution of the mental ages show- 
ing the mental acceleration and mental retardation. It is interesting to 
note that 15 children are advanced in age mentally and 25 grade exactly 
normal for physical age; 28, or 20%, are retarded one year; 18, or 13%, 
are retarded two years; 56, or 40%, are retarded three or more years. This 
study shows the need of a mental examination and social study of all chil- 
dren in the orphans’ homes in this state that they can be properly classified 
and that proper distribution of these in suitable institutions be made at the 
earliest possible moment, thus relieving the orphans’ homes of the burden 
of the mental defectives who are properly not their charges, and paving 
the way for their proper care in a custodial institution for the feeble- 
minded. 
