"Four Corners and a Void": Idiocy and Childhood Disability in Nineteenth-Century America.

Over the second half of the nineteenth century, thousands of Americans were admitted to schools for so-called idiotic children, later known as institutions for the feebleminded and linked to the Eugenics movement. While idiocy is often presumed to be the antecedent of intellectual disability, an analysis of the stories of three hundred children admitted to one such institution over a forty-year period demonstrates an unexpected diversity of appearances, abilities, and behaviors. Within the walls of the institution, idiocy was composed of children whose perceived abilities deviated from the expectations of their social position. Families further shaped the diagnosis of idiocy by negotiating the timing of admission for their children, influenced not only by personal factors, but by shifting educational and employment opportunities, and cultural tolerance of diversity. Consequently, idiocy became the broadest descriptor of disability during the nineteenth century.

Collecting to understand: the art of children and the medical-pedagogical approach in twentieth-century Portugal.

In this essay I look at the art of children as a tool in the medical-pedagogical approach, as proposed by the founder of child psychiatry in Portugal, Vítor Fontes (1893-1979). First, the topic of the art of children is introduced, and the second part focuses on the model of medical pedagogy as it was practised in Portugal. The third and fourth parts present Fontes's own investigations on the drawings of children with intellectual disabilities under observation at the Instituto Médico-Pedagógico António Aurélio da Costa Ferreira (IAACF) in Lisbon. In the conclusion it is argued that Fontes contributed to the development of child psychiatry in Portugal by showing that children's art can mirror their cognitive and emotional development.

"Minha filha tem um atraso": considerações sobre uma (pseudo) deficiência intelectual e sua dinâmica familiar / "Mi hija tiene un retraso": consideraciones con respecto a una (seudo) discapacidad intelectual y su dinámica familiar / "My daughter has a backwardness": considerations due to a (pseudo) intellectual disability and its familiar dynamics / "Ma fille a un retard": réflexions sur une (pseudo) déficience intellectuelle et sa dynamique familiale

Este artigo trabalha possibilidades de intervenção com pacientes tidos como deficientes intelectuais. Após apresentar o caso clínico, situamos a noção de deficiência intelectual, seu histórico e lugar no campo das terapêuticas. Em seguida, buscamos os aportes da psicanálise ao tema para compreender os processos psíquicos envolvidos na situação, desde a inibição intelectual até os não ditos familiares e a transmissão intergeracional do traumático. Finalmente, a teoria é articulada aos aspectos do caso. Conclui-se a importância dos psicoterapeutas e equipes de tratamento se familiarizarem com a temática, considerando a relevância dos aspectos psíquicos e relacionais nas produções sintomáticas de aprendizagem. Nos contextos institucionais de tratamento, destaca-se a importância da flexibilidade dos dispositivos clínicos, permitindo intervenções individuais, grupais e familiares, a depender do momento de tratamento

Este artículo trabaja posibilidades de intervención con pacientes tomados como discapaces intelectualmente. Después de presentar el caso clínico, planteamos la noción de discapacidad intelectual, su histórico y sitio en el campo de las terapéuticas. En seguida buscamos los aportes del psicoanálisis al tema, para comprehender los procesos psíquicos involucrados en la situación, desde la inhibición intelectual hasta los no-dichos familiares y la trasmisión intergeneracional del traumático. Por fín, la teoría és articulada a los aspectos del caso. Concluyese la importancia de los psicoterapeutas y equipos de tratamiento familiarizarense con el tema, considerandose el relieve de los aspectos psíquicos y relacionales en las producciones sintomáticas del aprendizaje. En los contextos institucionales de tratamiento, se destaca la importancia de la flexibilidad de los dispositivos clínicos, permitiendo intervenciones individuales, grupales y familiares, de acuerdo al momento del tratamento

This article works possibilities of interventions with patients taken as intellectually disabled. After introducing the clinical case, we present the notion of intellectual disability, its history and place in the therapeutic field. We then highlight psychoanalytical contributions to the subject, to comprehend the psychic processes involved in the situation, from the intellectual inhibition to the unspoken family matters and the traumatic intergenerational transmission. Finally, the theory is articulated with aspects of the case. We conclude about the importance for psychotherapists and treatment teams to be familiar with the subject, considering the importance of psychic and relational aspects on symptomatic productions related to learning. Regarding institutional treatment contexts, we emphasize the flexibility of the clinical settings, allowing individual, group and familiar interventions according to the treatment moment

Cet article traite des possibilités d'intervention auprès de patients considérés comme handicapés mentaux. Après avoir présenté le cas clinique, nous situons la notion de déficience intellectuelle, son histoire et sa place dans le champ thérapeutique. Ensuite, nous recherchons les apports de la psychanalyse au thème pour comprendre les processus psychiques impliqués dans la situation telle que l'inhibition intellectuelle ou le non-dit familier et la transmission intergénérationnelle du traumatique. Enfin, la théorie est articulée aux aspects du cas. Nous concluons qu'il est important pour les psychothérapeutes et les équipes de traitement de se familiariser avec le sujet, compte tenu de la pertinence des aspects psychiques et relationnels dans les difficultés d'apprentissage comme symptôme. Dans les contextes institutionnels de traitement, l'importance de la flexibilité des dispositifs cliniques est mise en évidence, permettant des interventions individuelles, de groupe et familiales, selon le moment du traitement

On intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States: A historical perspective.

The history of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the United States is, in many ways, a triumphant story reflecting an increasingly progressive attitude acknowledging the equality of all persons. The law now recognizes people with IDD as citizens, possessing an equal right to education, health care, and employment-each of which represents milestone victories. However, this progression was not a linear development but rather a product of periods of growth and decline, backsliding, and hard-won battles across political, cultural, and legal domains. This article explores the vacillating historical trajectory for people with IDD in the United States from the colonial period to the present. Particular attention is paid to the conceptual understanding of disability itself across time periods as that which informs particular developments in treatment, law, and social status. The capabilities approach, as outlined by Martha Nussbaum, is then brought to bear as a heuristic framework, consonant with current developments in disability studies, and which may guide future social and legislative action.

'Am I mad?': the Windham case and Victorian resistance to psychiatry.

This article revisits the notorious trial of William Windham, a wealthy young man accused of lunacy. The trial in 1861-2 saw the country's foremost experts on psychological medicine very publicly debate the concepts, symptoms and diagnosis of insanity. I begin by surveying the trial and the testimonies of medical experts. Their disparate assessments of Windham evoked heated reactions in the press and Parliament; these reactions are the focus of the second section. I then proceed to examine criticism of psychiatry in the newspapers more generally in the 1860s, outlining the political resistance to psychiatry and the responses of some leading psychiatrists. In conclusion, I consider what this says about the politics of medicalization at the time.

Citizenship, Vulnerability and Mental Incapacity in England, 1900-1960s.

Over the twentieth century, the Lunacy Office (renamed the Court of Protection in 1947) was responsible for appointing 'receivers' to manage the property of adults in England who were found incapable of managing their own affairs. Tens of thousands of people were in this position by the 1920s, and numbers continued to grow until after Second World War. This article uses the archives of the Office to examine the evolution of the concept of mental incapacity over the first half of the twentieth century, offering a corrective to the popular impression that the time before the Mental Capacity Act of 2005 was an era of ignorance and bad practice. It examines the changing ways in which being 'incapable' was understood and described, with particular reference to shifting ideas of citizenship. I argue that incapacity was not always seen as absolute or permanent in the first half of the century, that models of incapacity began to include perceived vulnerability in the interwar period and that women in particular were seen in this way. From the 1940s, though, the profile of those found incapable was changing, and the growing welfare state and its principles of employment and universality saw the idea of incapacity narrowing and solidifying around knowledge deficits, especially among the elderly. This brings the history of the Lunacy Office into the twentieth century and connects it to current concerns around assessments of mental capacity today.

Divulgando nuevas ideas sobre la diversidad humana: la dimensión educativa del discurso sobre la discapacidad en la España franquista / Popularizing new ideas about human diversity: the educational dimension of the discourse on disability in Franco's Spain

A lo largo del Franquismo la discapacidad apareció inmersa en un complejo discurso en el que confluían, entre otras cosas, las ideas científicas, la sensibilidad hacia las personas portadoras de "deficiencias", el interés económico, y el adoctrinamiento político. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el componente "educativo" de este discurso y poner de manifiesto cómo dicho ingrediente no estuvo únicamente dirigido a mejorar las condiciones de vida de las personas catalogadas de "inválidas", sino que pretendió también obtener el compromiso, la colaboración y la complicidad del conjunto de la ciudadanía para establecer medidas destinadas a reducir el impacto negativo que, según se sostenía, provocaba la discapacidad. Así mismo, mostraremos cómo dicho discurso, que en ocasiones adquirió tintes propagandísticos, contribuyó a que en la España franquista creciese una forma de contemplar la discapacidad que no siempre fue favorable a los intereses de las personas con discapacidad

Under Francoism, disability appeared immersed in a complex discourse in which converged, among other things, scientific ideas, sensitivity towards people carrying "deficiencies", economic interest, and political indoctrination. This paper aims to analyse the "educational" component of this discourse and underscore that not only pretended to improve the living conditions of people listed as "invalid"; but also to obtain the commitment, collaboration and complicity of the whole citizenship to implement measures to reduce the alleged negative impact of disability. Furthermore, we will show how this discourse, which sometimes acquired propaganda dyes, contributed to developing in Franco's Spain a climate regarding disability that it has not always been favourable to the interests of people with disabilities

The Baldovan Institution Abuse Inquiry: a forgotten scandal.

In this paper, I resurrect a long-forgotten inquiry into abuse and maladministration at an institution for people with learning disabilities, the Baldovan Institution near Dundee, that has lain buried in the archives for the past 60 years. I contrast the response to it with the very different response to the similar revelations of the Ely Hospital Inquiry more than a decade later. Whereas Ely opened up the institutional sector to greater public scrutiny and brought with it a formal commitment from the government to shift the balance of care away from the long-term hospital, Baldovan produced recommendations that were limited to the institution and had no impact on public policy or institutional practice. I consider the reasons for this and its implications.

Can artificially deforming skulls cause "defects of intelligence"? The observations of a positivist anthropologist on an artificially deformed skull discovered in Naples.

We discuss a particular case of an artificially deformed skull discovered in Naples in 1892 and published in the Italian Journal of Natural Sciences by the anthropologist Abele De Blasio. To comprehend the observations of the researcher about the "defects of intelligence" caused by the artificial deformation of the skull, we will also analyze other articles in which De Blasio presented the deformed skulls of ancient Peruvian mummies.

Augusta Rasmussen - psychiatrist, pioneer and the scientific truths of the time. / Augusta Rasmussen ­ psykiater, pioner og tidens vitenskapelige sannheter.

In 1934, senior registrar Augusta Rasmussen (1895­1979) published a study of 77 cases involving sexual offences. She found that the women involved had suffered no mental injury from the abuse. In 1947, she published a study of the intelligence level of 310 Norwegian women who had formed relationships with German soldiers during the occupation. She found that nearly all of them were more or less retarded. Her conclusions, however, were not scientifically valid. Here we present Rasmussen's biography, academic background and scientific activity.

[A Multi-arm Placebo-controlled Study with Glutamic Acid Conducted in Rostock in 1953/1954]. / Eine Rostocker Placebo-kontrollierte mehrarmige Studie mit Glutaminsäure bei Kindern und Jugendlichen 1953/54.

A Multi-arm Placebo-controlled Study with Glutamic Acid Conducted in Rostock in 1953/1954 Glutamic acid was commonly used in the treatment of intellectually disabled children in the 50s. Koch reported first results of an observation of 140 children treated with glutamic acid in 1952. In this line is the multi-arm placebo-controlled study reported here. The original study protocols were available. 58 children with speech problems who attending a school of special needs received glutamic acid, or vitamin B, or St.-John's-wort. The effect of glutamic acid was in few cases an improvement of attention. On the other hand restlessness and stutter increased. The majority of all reported a weight loss. The treatment with vitamin B showed a positive effect concerning concentration. The treatment with St.-John's wort was stopped caused by headache and vomiting in eight of nine cases. The results of the study reported here are unpublished. The reason may be that until the 60s the effects of glutamic acid in the treatment of intellectually disabled children were in generally overestimated.

[Brain X-radiation for Childhood Epilepsy, Hydrocephalus or Mental Retardation? Research at Tuebingen University, 1940-1946]. / Röntgenbestrahlung des Gehirns zur Behandlung von kindlicher Epilepsie, Hydrocephalus oder Schwachsinn? Forschungen an der Tübinger Universitätsklinik von 1940-1946.

Brain X-radiation for Childhood Epilepsy, Hydrocephalus or Mental Retardation? Research at Tuebingen University, 1940-1946 We reconstructed 65 cases out of a series of "experimental" X-ray-therapy by chart review and reanalysis of publications from a contextual historical perspective. The research procedures in the context of NS-pressure for effectiveness soon dismissed structured scientific procedures and surrendered own standards, whereas radiation impact did not transgress the contemporary guidelines.