A Study of Handicapped Children 



By Helen Hare, A.M., Hospital Worker in Robert W. Long 

 Hospital, Indianapolis 



INTRODUCTION 



Most of the modern social problems studied and puzzled 

 over by the present-day sociologist have an historical back- 

 ground, and it is interesting to observe the evolution of pub- 

 lic attitude toward them with the development of civilization. 



Cripples — both children and adults — have been a social 

 problem, or at least a social recognition, from the beginning 

 of history. The superstition of mediaeval times lent a tinge 

 of awe and fear to any human being varying from the normal 

 type. The cripples, like the insane, were regarded as freaks 

 of witchcraft, and were shunned accordingly. The poor 

 creatures were discriminated against as if they had been to 

 blame for their own tragic disability. The earliest record of 

 any definite recognition of the problem of cripples dates back 

 to 590 A.D. when Pope Gregory reformed the Church and 

 charity administration in Rome, and included the cripples 

 with all the other infirm and destitute, who as a class were to 

 be supported by public funds.' Thus pauperism was consid- 

 ered a special privileged state for cripples, and their salvation 

 was farther from their reach than ever! The church was 

 the original institutional basis for ''poor" and ''sick relief", 

 and tho the mistake of pauperizing was practiced, yet the 

 church deserves credit for making the first effort to alleviate 

 the situation. At this same time the cripple was being ex- 

 ploited for the amusement of the idle pleasure-seekers, and 

 we have historical tales of the dwarfed and hunchbacked court 

 jesters and fools. The more grotesquely misshapen the 

 cripple, the more popular and valuable he was for catering to 

 the cruel enjoyment of the courtiers. Verdi's opera "Rigo- 

 letto" illustrates the tragic appeal of the court jester, as does 

 also a little play called The Birthday of the Infanta, in which 



1 The Modern Hospital, March, 1919, pp. 164-168. 



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