“BAD” CHILDREN

Evening Star, Issue 20983, 23 December 1931, Page 7

“BAD” CHILDREN

MILD METHODS SUCCEED THE PART OF HEALTH Tho discovery that “ badness ” in children may arise from damage to tho brain caused by sleeping , sickness, even by such a mild case as to pass undetected, has led to an educational experiment at the Pennsylvania Hospital m Philadelphia which, its sponsors believe, points an important moral for tho handling of disordered behaviour among children in general. The work and its meanings for both parents and educators are described by Earl Bond, medical director of the hospital’s Institute for Mental Hygiene, m an article in the Now York ‘Times.’ The World War either started or spread encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain called popularly “sleeping sickness,” which, in its mildest forms, produces most serious behaviour disorders, writes Dr Bond. The study of these behaviour problems has an importance beyond the intrinsic value to medicine. The disease affects children, and in an insidious way. It shows, in fact, the influence on physical! factors in the flood of juvenile delinquency which the Wickersham Committee described. Tho methods of dealing with the resulting behaviour problems, moreover. are methods which can also be applied to the education of normal children and especially of exceptional’ children. All over the country, and over the world, children are suddenly meeting brain injuries which show themselves to the neurologist, but often not to tho .parent or family physician, in “convulsions,” delirium, “seeing double,” slight paralysis, disturbances of breathing ancl of sleep, hollowing these first symptoms (not always by any 'means) come variations of disturbed behaviour, shown in over-sentimentality combined with fearless lying, stealing, mischief, and disregard for authority and punishment. ' • A mother said: “Mary was a nice girl among her brothers and sisters; then all of a sudden she began to go wrong—and she does not care. Sho is only ten, but she spends nights with a gang of boys, sho will not go to school. She does not try to hide anything, and she asks what 1 am going to do about it. Her brothers and sisters will not speak to her, or eat with her, and think she has disgraced the family. And all out of a clear sky—no one was any nicer as a child of eight.” THE ORIGIN. The physician found that the mother thought it unimportant that at nine Mary fell asleep often, in school, or even over her ice cream. But this symptom pointed tho way back to a diagnosis of some slight injury to Mary’s brain, which diagnosis was in itself an answer to the question of the mother as to what had started Mary on a criminal career. ! An .attempt to change _ “ bad ” behaviour of this kind is being made by the psychiatric staff of the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. A

boarding school, established in .December, 1924, cares for about twenty-live children at a time. Only bright children have been accepted, and those without progressive paralyses or tremors. At first the upper age limit was twelve, and now it is ton. The children were placed with a teacher and trained nurses, under the supervision of psychiatrists. All worked on a long-distance plan—all took the same attitude of understanding and sympathy, but insisted upon a constructive plan. Certain good effects have appeared like magic. The children have slept well from the first nights, in contrast to their disturbed nights at home. They have all gained in weight. It is obvious that a group of children is more easy to care for than a single child—although “easy” is not the proper word. There is interest and amusement and competition in the group. In school the teacher has been careful not to emphasise feelings of inferiority, which are almost universal. She has started each pupil at work which she knew he could do well, and led him on to advanced work by a series of successes. In classes of ten she has been able to give individuals attention. When not reciting the children have wandered about as they liked. In general they have done as well as most children of their ages. PATIENCE NEEDED.

It has taken much patience and continued effort first to gain the confidence of the children and then to take away from them the glorious excuse which they have had for all misconduct—“l’ve got encephalitis.” The staff Las entered into the children’s work and play, told them stories and illustrated them by drawings, and read books with them. All this effort is concentrated upon the child, also much child guidance and other effort is. centred upon the parents. In tho prevention of delinquency it is of great importance to know hew much can be gained by one attitude or the other. Tho contrast has been the more marked because most of the children who have “graduated from tho class ” have had to go home before there could be much of an attempt to prepare tho parents. As all of the forty-eight children but two improved greatly in the hospital, and fourteen out of twenty-one sent home were considerably or slightly better, it seems that in fighting juvenile delinquency we have one powerful medical weapon in a hospital school. If wo list beside encephalitis other mild brain disturbances which seem to have similar effects, we have these physical agents which are leading to behaviour disorders; slight hemorrhages into tho brain at birth, from accidents, especially from automobile injuries, contagious fevers of childhood- with brain symptoms, malnutritions, and poisonings. But it is clear that it is brain injury plus inefficient management which causes most trouble, and so we can add to the list of mental agencies: Spoiling a child, doing things to pacify for tho moment, forgetting a long-distance plan, neglecting a well-ordered and uncrowded family life, and putting too much of a strain on an over-worked mother.

So this experiment has developed into a thorough-going re-education of habits and attitudes, which re-education might bo well applied to children in general.