EDUCATION 



1947 



EDUCATION 





complicated cases, but it is always better to 

 consult .an eye specialist. The human eye is 

 too important to take any chances with. 



Neurasthenia, a nervous disease in adult life, 

 is often caused by the neglect or mistreatment 

 of eyes in childhood. 



Nervous Disorders. Most of the nervous dis- 

 orders of school children are of what are called 

 the functional variety. Strictly speaking there 

 is no such thing as a functional disorder, that is, 

 everything has an organic origin if we were 

 only able to find it, but the word "functional" 

 is a convenient one to use, because it indicates 

 a disorder for which we cannot discover the 

 exact cause, and one which is not dangerous 

 to life. 



The common nervous troubles of children of 

 the school age are as follows: 



General nervous instability, and nervous ex- 

 haustion. 



Habit spasms. 



Saint Vitus's dance (chorea). 



Morbid fears. 



Night terrors. 



Stammering and stuttering. 



Epileptic fits. 



Hysteria. 



The two last named occur less often. 



The child who is nervousi}' unstable shows 

 his disposition in ways which a teacher or a 

 wise parent ought easily to understand. Such 

 a child is likely to be very emotional at times, 

 to laugh or cry easily; he has poor control of 

 himself in general; often selfishness is a very 

 prominent trait; concentration is usually poor, 

 and while the child is often alert and bright, 

 he is easily fatigued, and sometimes he is 

 constantly fatigued. Such children are capri- 

 cious in their habits, they are notional about 

 their food, often sleep badly, and are usually 

 below the normal .weight. They seldom endure 

 physical pain well, and in disposition are likely 

 to be fault-finding and exacting. 



It is from undisciplined children of this type 

 that most of the neurasthenics or adult nervous 

 people come. Sensible discipline and regular 

 physical education are heeded by these chil- 

 dren if they are to succeed in life. Physical 

 defects or actual diseases are sometimes at the 

 root of the trouble. 



Habit Spasms. By habit spasms are meant, 

 peculiar "tricks" or habits, such as twitching 

 of the eyes, rolling the eyes, sniffing, grunting, 

 coughing, jerking the head, shrugging the 

 shoulders, and a great variety of other things 

 which are done almost or quite unconsciously 

 by the child. The condition always indicates 



a nervously unstable disposition, and calls for 

 attention to the general physical state of the 

 child. Special training will do good but nag- 

 ying will do only harm. 



Saint Vitus's Dance. Saint Vitus's dance is 

 often confused with habit spasms, but is really 

 a much more serious disorder. The muscular 

 jerkings are usually distributed more widely 

 over the body. The child drops things, kicks 

 out his feet, stumbles, has spasms of the head, 

 neck and shoulders. Often he is unjustly 

 criticised for habits he can in no way control. 

 In the majority of such cases trouble will l>e 

 found with the tonsils. Rheumatism is often 

 present, and the heart is very frequently 

 affected. 



Rest in bed, nourishing food, and attention to 

 diseased tonsils cure many cases. Every case 

 of Saint Vitus's dance requires prompt, careful 

 medical attention. 



Morbid Fears. Morbid fears are found in 

 many nervous children when one knows how 

 to search for them, but unfortunately they are 

 often concealed by the sensitive child. Such 

 fears include all sorts of things of simple or 

 complicated nature. Sometimes these fears 

 become fixed ideas which may haunt u child 

 for months of years. Many of the nervous 

 disorders of adult life are directly due to un- 

 corrected morbid fears in childhood. Such re- 

 pressed fears are often forgotten but are never- 

 theless still present in the subconscious mind. 

 The greatest care should be observed to pre- 

 vent such fears from becoming fixed. These 

 fears may be connected with religion, with 

 punishment, death, sickness, sounds, sights, 

 stories, persons real or imaginary, and u great 

 host of other things. 



They often quite spoil the pleasure of living 

 and thus render the child's life utterly mis- 

 erable. 



N-ight Terrors, Stammering and Xtutttruuj. 

 These are nearly always evidences of an un- 

 stable nervous organization and tire danger sig- 

 nals which should always be heeded. Their 

 indirect causes are many but may usually be 

 discovered. Special training for those who 

 have speech defects is usually necessary. 



Epilepsy and hysteria are much more serious 

 than any of the other nervous troubles men- 

 tioned, but fortunately they are also less fre- 

 quently observed. 



Epilepsy. Epilepsy, a disease whose typical 

 symptom is spasms, is often indirectly uuund 

 by over-strain and digestive disturbance?, but 

 the direct cause is always due to a fundamental 



