MENTAL DEFECTIVES

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 133, 9 June 1927, Page 15

MENTAL DEFECTIVES

TREATMENT SUGGESTED

FARM FOR CHILDREN"

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

NAPLES, Bth June.

Addressing subscribers to the Hawkes Bay Children's Home at the annual meeting to-day, Dr. A. Clark, medical officer to the Education Board, who is resigning, and leaving shortly for England, said he wouia like to bring forward a matter in which he was deeply interested. In past years he had occasion to consider the treatment of the mentally defective individual. In every society there were a number of individuals unable to keep out of crime. These generally had grown up from children classed as mental defectives. Few normal individuals came into conflict with the law. The mental defective was like his normal companion in many ways, but not of such keen intelligence; he was like someone walking in a half-light and could not avoid traps and pitfalls which most people avoided; he could not understand the ordinary standards of conduct. Something had already been done for this class. The Education Board had instituted special classes in Napier and Hastings, but admirable as these were no provision has been made for such individuals beyond that stage. One might almost say that the only hope for them was to commit a crime, when they would be committed to one of the special institutions in the South Islandthere wore none in the North. Dr. Clark said he had watched the work of the homes, and on leaving New Zealand he felt he could pay the trustees a compliment. The admirable way in which the homes were run convinced him that their organisation was the best to undertake charge of defectives. Sir James Parr had premised that the Government would help any such scheme. He proposed that the trustees should start a farm colony to which boys could be drafted from a special school borne would remain there all their livesothers might leave when the authorities considered thefy had no anti-social tendencies. It was held that the two years, 12.t0 14, were the decisive years. if the child was trained in those years to become a useful citizen well and ,good; if not he would never be fit for anything.but such an institution. The former class would become competent artisans, the latter would never be other than casual labourers, and unsatisfactory ones at that, and would probably become petty delinquent men with a grudge against society. If anything could save.this class from its pitiful fate it would.be worth trying. It would be possible to start a home for twenty boys, which could be developed later as became necessary. He was sure it would be found interesting as well as useful work.

In _ answer to a question Dr. Clark said it would be necessary to provide a separate institution for the work. Miss Munro, who is in charge of the Napier special class, said that the new Director of Education (Mr. Strong) was much interested ,in the work and had promised, assistance. She invited members of the committee to visit her class. On the chairman's motion the matter was referred to the trustees for their favourable consideration.