MENTAL DEFICIENCY EXPERT VISITS CITY

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28897, 18 May 1959, Page 7

MENTAL DEFICIENCY EXPERT VISITS CITY

Someone suffering from a mental disability, unless badly handicapped, could be trained to play some part in the community in the same way as a man who had lost his leg could adjust his disability to making the best of living, a British expert on mental deficiency, Dr. L. T. Hilliard, said yesterday. Dr. Hilliard, in New Zealand at the invitation of the Department of Health, is physician superintendent of the Fountain Hospital for Mental Deficiency, in southwest London. He arrived in Christchurch by air yesterday afternoon from Australia where he visited the eastern States and South Australia. Dr. Hilliard was met yesterday by Dr R. G. T. Lewis, director of the Division of Mental Hygiene. Dr. Hilliard’s field is mental deficiency as distinct from mental sickness. His 600-bed hospital in

London cares for mentally deficient children, but annexes of the hospital handle adults too. He said the mentally deficient could be divided into three groups —the mildly handicapped, the “middle grade” and the badly handicapped. People in the first two groups could be trained to do useful work, but in the middle grade they might have to be given work in a sheltered workroom and live in hostels if they could not liye at home. "Many mentally deficient people live at home. You might get someone living at home, cared for by. his mother, and doing simple jobs like washing up. “When the mother dies then he goes into an institution, but possibly he can be trained and be cared for in a hostel,” Dr. Hilliard said. He said that other mentally deficient people who lived at home went daily to training centres. There they could be trained to do simple work like making packages. “These days everyone wants packages—not like the old days when things were counted out in front of you.” Dr. Hilliard said the House of Lords was at present discussing changes in mental health legislation. “Usually the changes come fijst and when they have been tried out, the legislation follows.”

He said that recently the British Mental Treatment Act of 1930 was being more broadly interpreted A feeble-minded person could now voluntarily become a patient m a mental institution. Previously such a person had to be certified by a Magistrate before being allowed to enter an institution, he said. While in New Zealand. Dr. Hilliard will examine mental deficiency in this country, visiting institutions administered by both the Department of Health and the Education Department. Today he will visit the Templeton Farm and have lunch at the nurses’ home. This afternoon he will meet representatives of local organisations and tonight will talk on the community care of the feeble-minded at a meeting in the Jellicoe Hall. Tomorrow he will go to the child health clinic, in Hereford „ eet - then on to meet intellectually handicapped children’s parents at the Merivale lane occupational centre. * n the day he will visit the Marylands Home for mild to moderately sub-normal boys and then go on to Templeton again tor talks with senior officers there Dr. Hilliard will visit Dunedin after leaving Christchurch, before going on to Wellington. Hamilton and Auckland.