Mental Disease and Defect 



53 



caring for only a small proportion of the defective population. 

 Because of this fact, an effort must be made to secure supervision 

 of these individuals in their homes to prevent the evil conse- 

 quences which have been mentioned, all the while educating public 

 opinion toward legislative action. 



^^No group of people is more definitely handicapped in the 

 efforts of maintaining existence than is the epileptic."^ Thus 

 the epileptic, potentially at least, belongs to the pauper class, 

 and must be cared for by society. Without warning, his physical 

 and mental processes are stopped for varying periods of time. 

 During these periods, or preceding or following them, he may be 

 temporarily insane and hence violent and irresponsible. His 

 mental enfeeblement is progressive and dementia is the inevitable 

 result unless he meets an early death. 



Since the cause and remedy of this disease is as yet undeter- 

 mined by medical science, a definite social program is difficult to 

 formulate. However, the epileptic is incompetent, physically 

 and mentally, for life in society. Heredity is believed to play a 

 large part in causing the disease. This, together with the fact 

 of the peculiar mental make-up of the epileptic, making him 

 difficult to restrain and given to criminal and immoral tendencies, 

 makes institutional care for him advisable. Society will thus be 

 protected from him and his potentially defective offspring and 

 he will be enabled to receive constant expert medical attention 

 and to lead, as far as possible, a useful life, free from responsi- 

 bility and best suited to his well-being. Until such time as ade- 

 quate institutional care in farm colonies, which thus far have 

 been deemed most suitable, can be provided for these individuals, 

 society must provide means for their care and protection in the 

 community. 



The insane have received more attention from the layman 

 than the feeble-minded or the epileptic and more adequate pro- 

 vision for their care has been made. Altho this is praiseworthy 

 as far as it goes, the questions of prevention and of after-care 

 have been neglected. Many forms of insanity are wholly or par- 

 tially preventable and many times recurrences of disorders are 

 preventable. Early recognition of the disordered mind and the 

 securing of expert medical attention are the first steps toward 

 cure. However, prevention must go back of the individual to 

 his forebears in a majority of cases. The inheritance of an 



1 R, L. Dixon, M.D., The Epileptic's Sacial StatMS, p. 3. 



