Mental Disease and Defect 



21 



Abe G. was brought to the United States at the age of four 

 years by his parents. His mother tells the following story to 

 account for his mental defect : 



As the steamship was entering New York harbor little Abe fell over- 

 board. After several hours he was rescued and revived. The doctor and 

 nurses worked ^ith him a long time to get the water off his brain. He 

 was sick for a week and then apparently recovered. However, there must 

 still be some of that water on his brain or he would be more like the other 

 children. 



Abe does not do well with abstract work in school and has 

 failed to make his grades. What concerns his parents more, 

 he shows no desire to work and earn money. The other children 

 in the family haA'e clothed themselves by their earnings at his 

 age and he cannot even keep a paper route. 



Of foreign-born parentage there are 2 Germans, 1 Russian 

 •Jew, 1 Austrian, and 1 Mexican. Of these, 3 are being cared for 

 in the institution. One is Retta J., mentioned before as the 

 mother of 2 illegitimate children, 1 is a cretin, 1 a low grade 

 moron with chorea and a history of alcoholism of his parents. 

 Of the 2 who are at home, 1 is a case of congenital syphilis and 

 the other of spastic paraplegia. 



TABLE III. CLASSIFICATION BY RACE AND NATIONALITY 





MALE 



FEMALE 



TOTAL 



White American 



49 



36 



85 



Colored American 



4 



5 



9 





1 



0 



1 





3 



2 



5 



Total 



57 



43 



100 



In the classification of defect as given in Table TV there is 

 found to be the largest number of imbeciles and morons. As the 

 unclassified would probably all fall into one or the other of 

 these grades, perhaps the majority being morons, there is a pre- 

 dominance of the group which is the greatest social menace. The 

 idiot is easily diagnosed, but the higher grades require skilful 

 testing for correct classification. 



Of the idiots, 1 only, an epileptic, is in an institution. One 

 other is a female with epilepsy whose parents desire institutional 

 care but cannot secure it until the completion of the buildings 

 for women at the Indiana Village for Epileptics. Of the imbeciles, 

 10 are in the School for Feeble-minded Youth, 1 was discharged 

 from there, and application is filed for another. There are 3 who 

 have a complication of epilepsy and of these 1 is in the Village 



