The Origin And Nature Of Our Institutional Models

CREATOR:

Wolf Wolfensberger (author)

DATE:

January 10, 1969

FROM:

Changing Patterns in Residential Services for the Mentally Retarded

PUBLISHER:

President’s Committee on Mental Retardation, Washington, D.C.

SOURCE:

Available at selected libraries

[This essay evolved from a series of lectures and an address given before the Wisconsin Association for Retarded Children, Janesville, Wisconsin, May 1967. The writing of the paper was supported by U.S.P.H.S. Grant HD 00370 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. I am indebted to my colleagues. Psychiatrist Frank Menolascino and Sociologist Richard A. Kurtz (now at Notre Dame University) for inspiration and critical reading of earlier drafts.]

In this essay I will attempt to define the nature of various models which appear to underlie the design, location, and operation of residential facilities for the mentally retarded. I will then trace the historical evolution of various models that have been and are most prominent in the United States. In both tasks, I will rely heavily on original quotations, because I found that statements out of the past often have more direct impact than any attempts to rephrase or summarize them.

The Language of Architecture

There is probably little disagreement that, aside from considerations of cost or of the nature of the prospective residents, the design of residential facilities for the retarded is affected by attitudes and philosophies held by the designers and those who guide and direct them. These attitudes and philosophies may be held without the holder being conscious of their presence. Indeed, the holder may verbally and vehemently deny holding an attitude or philosophy which is strongly expressed in a building.

There are at least three dimensions of attitudes and philosophies that can be discerned in building design. These are: (1) the role expectancies the building design and atmosphere impose upon prospective residents, (2) the meaning embodied in or conveyed by a building, and (3) the focus of convenience designed into the building, i.e., whether the building was designed primarily with the convenience of the residents, the community, the staff, or the architect in mind.

Each of these three dimensions will be discussed below. However, the reader is reminded that the three dimensions are arbitrary ways of conceptualizing or analyzing the situation. Thus, there is some overlap between dimensions, and features which may be characteristic of one part of one dimension may be found to characterize parts of other dimensions. Additional dimensions can be defined with equal validity, although those defined here were felt to have particularly salient relevance to the present topic.

The term "model" will be encountered frequently in this essay. A human management model is here defined as a consistent pattern in which the behavior of persons is structured by other persons who exercise authority over them. A residential or institutional model consists of the interaction of the physical environment of the residence with the behavioral roles that managers impose upon or elicit from the managed residents.

The Perception of the Retardate's Role as a Determinant of the Institutional Models

A person's social perceptions are profoundly influenced by his basic values and orientation to life. Certain of these values and orientations have clear-cut implications to one's perception or image of the retardate and his role. And one's image of the retardate has definite implications to one's conceptualization of the residential care model appropriate for persons cast into playing the retardate role.

As Shakespeare said:

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts."

(As You Like It. Act II, Scene VII, 139-142)

It is a well-established fact that a person's behavior tends to be profoundly affected by the role expectations that are placed upon him. Generally, people will play the roles they have been assigned. This permits those who define social roles to make self-fulfilling prophecies by predicting that someone cast into a certain role will emit behavior consistent with that role. Unfortunately, role-appropriate behavior will then often be interpreted to be a person's "natural" rather than elicited mode of acting.

In institutions, role performance is influenced not only by the interpersonal stimuli to which an institution resident might be exposed on the part of the institution personnel but also by the opportunities and demands of the physical environment. For instance, the environment can very clearly express the expectation that a resident is not supposed to assume any responsibility for his actions, or that he is expected to act out violently, etc. By the same token, physical environment may impose a demand for controlled and highly socialized behavior which is clearly communicated to the prospective resident.

Social scientists in the recent past have elaborated a concept of great importance to the understanding of the behavior and management of retarded persons. The concept is that of "deviance." A person can be defined as being deviant if he is perceived as being significantly different from others in some overt aspect, and if this difference is negatively valued. An overt and negatively valued characteristic is called a "stigma."

The handicapped person is usually seen as, and expected to play the role of, a deviant. The retardate, being handicapped and often multiply stigmatized, is a deviant by definition. Too often, our texts have tried to explain attitudes toward the retarded in a narrow sense. However, to understand trends within our field, and society's response to the retarded, one must first understand societal attitudes toward deviancy generally, because a wide range of deviances may elicit similar response or expectancy patterns from people.

Wilkins (1965) suggests that our attitudes toward deviance derive from the platonic notion that goodness, truth, and beauty are related to each other, and that deviations from norms (truth) are "errors" that, by analogy, must be related to evil and ugliness. Thus, attitudes toward deviance may be rather generalized. For instance, a person may react with similar emotions toward retardation as he does toward blindness, delinquency, and senility.

It is chastening to recall that retardates in American history were long grouped with other types of deviants. In early America, the Puritans looked with suspicion on any deviation from behavioral norms, and irregular conduct was often explained in terms of the supernatural, such as witchcraft. There is reason to believe that retardates were hanged and burned on this suspicion. Later in New England, records show that lunatics, "distracted" persons, people who were non compos mentis, and those who had fits were all classed together, perhaps with vagabonds and paupers thrown in (Deutsch, 1949). Connecticut's first house of correction in 1722 was for rogues, vagabonds, the idle, beggars, fortune tellers, diviners, musicians, runaways, drunkards, mutes, pilferers, brawlers -- and the mentally afflicted (Deutsch, 1949). As late as about 1820, retardates, together with other dependent deviants such as aged paupers, the sick poor, or the mentally distracted were publicly "sold" ("bid off") to the lowest bidder, i.e., bound over to the person who offered to take responsibility for them for the lowest amount of public support (Deutsch, 1949).

The 10th (1880) U.S. census first combined defectives, dependents, and delinquents for reporting purposes. The Public Health Service combined criminals, defectives, and delinquents as late as the 1920's.

The National Conference on Charities and Correction, between about 1875 and 1920, often grouped the idiotic, imbecilic and feebleminded with the deaf, dumb, blind, epileptic, insane, delinquent and offenders into one general class of "defectives." Few of us today are aware of the fact that the more contemporary term "mental defective" was coined to distinguish the retardate from these other "defectives," and it is no coincidence that many state institutions were for both the retarded and the epileptic. During the "indictment period," discussed later, an incredible range of deviances were associated with retardation; indeed, they were seen to be caused by it: illness; physical impediments; poverty; vagrancy; unemployment; alcoholism; sex offenses of various types, including prostitution and illegitimacy; crime; mental illness; and epilepsy. All these were called the "degeneracies."

"The chronic insane, the epileptic, the paralytic, the imbecile and idiot of various grades, the moral imbecile, the sexual pervert, the kleptomaniac; many, if not most, of the chronic inebriates; many of the prostitutes, tramps, and minor criminals; many habitual paupers, especially the ignorant and irresponsible mothers of illegitimate children, so common in poor houses; many of the shiftless poor, ever on the verge of pauperism and often stepping over into it; some of the blind, some deaf-mutes, some consumptives. All these classes, in varying degree with others not mentioned, are related as being effects of the one cause -- which itself is the summing up of many causes -- 'degeneracy'" (quoted by Johnson, 1903, p. 246).

The first institutions for the retarded were built in a period of optimism regarding mental illness and the education of the deaf and blind, and many facilities for these other deviancies were erected at that time. The later disillusionment about retardation was also not isolated, but part of a more generalized aversion toward, and virtual persecution of, deviances. Farm colonies were a logical development in mental retardation, but were also part of the history of mental institutions of the same period. During the early part of the century -- a very chauvinistic period -- numerous writers claimed that a large proportion of retardates came from foreign-born stock, contributing to the call for more restrictive immigration laws. This is perhaps an extreme example of how retardation was linked in the minds of many to other types of deviance. One could go on endlessly demonstrating the point that societal responses toward retardation were not specific, but were part of a more generalized pattern of response toward deviance.

Historically, deviance has been handled in a number of ways.

1. Deviance can be prevented. A psycho-social means of prevention is not to attach negative value to certain types of differentness. For instance, medieval Catholicism and the more contemporary Hutterites did not place excessive value on intellectual achievement, and therefore were less likely to view the retardate as a deviant.

2. Deviance can be made undeviant, usually by means such as education, training, treatment.

3. The deviant, being perceived as unpleasant, offensive or frightening can be segregated from the mainstream of society and placed at its periphery. We have numerous examples of this in our society: we segregate the Indian in reservations, and the Negro in the ghetto; the aged are congregated in special homes, ostensibly for their own good, and these homes are often located at the periphery of our communities or in the country; deaf and blind children who could be taught in the regular schools are sent to residential schools, many of which are on the periphery of, or remote from, population centers; we have (or have had) "dying rooms" in our hospitals to save us the unpleasantness of ultimate deviancy; and the emotionally disturbed and the retarded may be placed in institutions far in the countryside.

Deviance can be seen to be someone's fault or perhaps a sign that the deviant's parents had sinned and were being punished by the lord. The belief that blemish in the offspring is the result of punishment for parental wrongdoing appears to be deeply engrained in the unconscious of the people. Often, this belief is overtly expressed. It is a belief that had been held by Howe (a leading American pioneer in the field of retardation) and was repeatedly expressed by him. In fact, he even asserted that retardation could result from a person's own wrongdoing (Howe, 1848, 1852, 1866), e.g.: "It appeared to us certain that the existence of so many idiots in every generation must be the consequence of some violation of the natural laws; -- that where there was so much suffering, there must have been sin" (1848, p. 4) Greene (1884, p. 270) said: "Our wards are innocent of crime or fault. In the large majority of instances, they are the feeble and deformed expressions of parental sins or sorrows." Parental alcoholism, for instance, was widely believed to be a major cause of retardation (e.g., Kerlin, 1886, p. 297). Perceived to be the result of sin, deviance is something to be ashamed of, hidden and "put away." The Puritans held views along these lines (Deutsch, 1949).

4. Deviance can be destroyed. In the past, some kinds of deviance were seen to be the work of the devil or other evil forces. As such, the deviant was evil too, and had to be persecuted and destroyed so as to protect society. Destruction of deviants may also be advocated for other reasons of self-preservation or self-protection. For instance, many societies have condoned the destruction of weaker, less adequate, or handicapped members. This was true of ancient Greece and Rome, of the Eskimos and bushmen, and of Nazi Germany. In the United States, the increasing sentiment for, and legalization of, abortion of high-risk fetuses can be viewed, at least in part, as a variant of this theme.

In one's professional functioning, in the literature, and in the history of the field, one can discern at least seven well-defined role perceptions of the retardate. Most of these roles are deviant ones. The relationship between these role perceptions, the management of the retardate, and the design of his life space, though of crucial significance, is not always obvious. I will attempt to demonstrate how location, architecture, interior appointments, and day-to-day operating procedures of institutions will tend to form interrelated patterns (management models) that are consistent with various role perceptions of the retardate. (1) Institutional models based on seven major role perceptions of the retardate will be discussed.

(1) A similar attempt to relate psychiatric treatment approaches to schizophrenia to theoretical models can be found in Siegler and Osmond (1966). For a discussion of Osmond's collaborative efforts with architect Izumi to design buildings for residents rather than for other architects, see Bayes (1967).

The Retardate as a Sick Person. One of the most prominent role perceptions of the retardate has been that of the sick person. The literature is replete with statements such as Fernald's (1915, p. 96): "The biological, economic and sociological bearings of feeble-mindedness have overshadowed the fact that it is fundamentally and essentially a medical question." A recent and unequivocal restatement of this role perception is contained in a very important document, viz., the Mental Retardation Handbook for the Primary Physician, issued by the American Medical Association (1965). In this work, mental retardation is repeatedly identified as a "disease" (e.g., p. 98) or an "illness" (e.g., p. 47).

When the retardate is viewed as a diseased organism, residential facilities are structured on the (medical) hospital model. This model tends to have the following characteristics;

1. The facility is administered by a medical hierarchy: the chief administrative officer (e.g., the superintendent) is a physician, with a hierarchy of other physicians under him, and a hierarchy of nurses under them. Concern about authority lines tends to result in a tightly controlled perpendicular administrative structure rather than a flexible subunitized one.

2. The residence is identified or even labeled, at least in part, as a hospital (e.g. "state hospital and school").

3. Living units are referred to as nursing units or wards.

4. Residents are referred to as patients, and their retardation is identified as being a "disease" that requires a "diagnosis" and "prognosis."

5. Resident care is referred to as nursing care.

6. Case records are referred to as charts.

7. Hospital routines prevail. For example, admission procedures may require days or weeks of "observation" and residence in an "infirmary" or similar unit prior to "diagnosis" and to assignment to regular living quarters. Daily routines may resemble hospital routines in regard to rising, body inspections, sick call, charting, etc.; indeed, the daily schedule may revolve around the hinge of medication schedules. Dispension of medication, in turn, may become the model for intake of nourishment, and for other "treatments" as well. Such other treatments, even if "administered" in the form of education, may be referred to as "dosages." Usually, there is at least moderate emphasis upon convenience of "nursing care."

8. Concern with professional status symbols and status differentiation often encountered in a hospital atmosphere may be expressed by features such as presence of hierarchical staff lounges, showers, and private toilets. There may be separate vending machines for staff and "patients." Staff and residents rarely eat together. Caretaker personnel may wear uniforms. Even professional and semiprofessional personnel may wear uniforms, coats of different colors, badges, name plates with their degrees listed, and similar insignia of their role and rank.

9. Nonmedical personnel may emulate the medical role, e.g., social workers and psychologists may wear white coats or jackets, and prestigious professionals may be referred to as "doctor" even if they do not possess a doctorate degree.

10. Resident management programs are referred to as "treatments" or "therapy," e.g., recreation and work assignments may become recreational and industrial therapy. Even ordinary schooling may become educational therapy.

11. Physicians, whether qualified or not, make decisions about nonmedical matters, e.g., residents' rights and privileges, visits, work assignments, discipline, inclusion in school, training, and other programs. Even if these decisions are made by nonmedical personnel because of temporary or permanent lack of physician manpower, this may be perceived as delegation of medical authority, and as such is perceived and interpreted as undesirable and transient.

12. Departments with the greatest affinity to medicine are given priority in program development, e.g., dentistry, orthopedics, and physical therapy may receive stronger support than behavior shaping, education, etc.

13. Physical and medical techniques are more likely to be used in managing the behavior of residents than other techniques. Thus, disturbed residents are more likely to be physically restricted or settled with drugs than to be counseled or trained; residents with seizures may be placed on anticonvulsant medication with little thought given to environmental manipulation of seizure-precipitating events or to educating the person to develop preventive behavior habits.

14. There exists an excessive abhorrence of any chance or likelihood of injury to the retardate. On the one hand, this is exemplified by lack of stairs and steps, sharp objects and corners, conventional electrical outlets, and access to conventional hot water faucets; etc. On the other hand, it is exemplified by the presence of special features such as ramps, screening of radiators, and screened stairways (if any).

15. A disease conceptualization of retardation tends to result in a management dilemma. On the one hand, such a conceptualization often results in pursuit of treatment hoped to result in cure; on the other hand, unless a "cure" is seen as likely, the management atmosphere is often permeated with hopelessness and treatment nihilism. In other words, the disease conceptualization tends to be correlated with inappropriate extremes of management attitudes.

The Retardate as a Subhuman Organism. The fact that deviant subgroups within a culture may be perceived as not fully human has long been recognized. To this day, large segments of our population deny full humanity to members of certain minority groups such as Negroes and American Indians. Retardates are particularly apt to be unconsciously perceived or even consciously labeled as subhuman, as animal-like, or even as "vegetables" or "vegetative."

The literature of the field is richly endowed with labels alluding to the alleged subhuman nature of the retarded. The term "garden variety," widely used by professionals in the field to refer to cultural-familial retardates, has definite vegetative connotations. It is interesting to note that the vegetable concept may, in part, have been derived from an inappropriate transfer of the medical concept of "vegetative functions." In medicine, the "vital functions" controlled by the autonomic nervous system and/or the hypothalamus may be referred to as "vegetative." These functions, which include temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, etc., are possessed by all humans and most animal species, and yet the concept of vegetative functions appears to have been translated into the social context in such a way as to abrogate even the animal, not to mention human, qualities of a person.

Luther, in describing what appears to have been a severely or profoundly retarded child, denied the child's humanity as follows: "Eight years ago, there was one at Dessau whom I, Martinus Luther, saw and grappled with. He was twelve years old, had the use of his eyes and all his senses, so that one might think that he was a normal child. But he did nothing but gorge himself as much as four peasants or threshers. He ate, defecated and drooled and, if anyone tackled him, he screamed. If things didn't go well, he wept. So I said to the Prince of Anhalt: 'If I were the Prince, I should take this child to the Moldau River which flows near Dessau and drown him.' But the Prince of Anhalt and the Prince of Saxony, who happened to be present, refused to follow my advice. Thereupon I said: 'Well, then the Christians shall order the Lord's Prayer to be said in church and pray that the dear Lord take the Devil away.' This was done daily in Dessau and the changeling died in the following year. When Luther was asked why he had made such a recommendation, he replied that he was firmly of the opinion that such changelings were merely a mass of flesh, a massa carnis, with no soul. For it is the Devil's power that he corrupts people who have reason and souls when he possesses them. The Devil sits in such changelings where their soul should have been!" (2)

(2) There are several versions of this account, derived from the various editions of Luther's Tabletalks, e.g., Luther's Works, Vol. 54, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1967, p. 396, and Aurifaber, Jr., Tischreden, Vol. 5, Weimar Edition, p. 9. In all editions the account is item No. 5207.

Deutsch (1949) pointed out that by some peculiar twist of logic, the mentally ill were often apt to be stripped of their human attributes, together with their rights and privileges as human beings. Obviously, it is even easier to dehumanize a person who never possessed much reason if one dehumanizes him who had reason but lost it. The idea that the mentally afflicted lack sensory acuity, e.g., that they are insensitive to heat and cold, was popular into the mid 1800's (Deutsch, 1949). This myth resulted in their often being denied heat during the winter in the cold cells of institutions, and may well have contributed to the image of the retardate as an insensate vegetable. To this day, retardates, like army recruits, may be said to need "being broken" or tamed, like horses or wild beasts. Just recently (Atlantic Monthly. October 1967, p. 49) a reader called for the "... sacrifice of mentally defective humans, or human vegetables..." to provide organ transplants and "...increase the intellectual betterment of mankind..." Dehumanization of the retardate is so accepted, even to this day, and even by workers in our own field, that we witness a public statement by a contemporary superintendent of a State institution referring to retardates as "...so-called human beings..." "below what we might call an animal level of functioning..." (Frontiers of Hospital Psychiatry. 1968, 5, 5-6).

The atmosphere and design of a residential facility can very clearly express an expectancy that the resident will behave in a subhuman fashion -- no matter how vociferously the staff may deny adherence to dehumanizing attitudes. Such expectancies are implicit in any of virtually hundreds of dehumanizing practices encountered in institutions and enumerated by Vail (1966). Some of the more common expectancies will be listed and briefly elucidated here.

1. The perception of the retardate as an animal usually implies an expectation that he behave in a primitive, uncontrolled fashion. Thus, the environment is designed to be "abuse-resistant," which implies measures such as:

(a) Walls, floors, etc., made of material that is indestructible.

(b) Unbreakable, shatterproof or wire-enmeshed glass in windows and partitions.

(d) Minimization of moving parts.

(e) High ceilings with recessed or specially shielded or laminated light fixtures, to minimize damage due to throwing of objects.

(f) Soundproofing to muffle the sounds residents are expected to emit; such sound proofing may even be installed in areas designed for retardates quite capable of learning-adaptive behavior.

(g) Television sets protected with wire screens, recessed into protective housing, and/or placed above reach.

2. A presumably subhuman retardate is usually perceived as being potentially assaultive, destructive, and lacking in self-direction and constructive purpose; this necessitates restricting his movements both to control him more easily and to protect either the human from the subhuman or one subhuman from another. This characteristically leads to a number of measures:

(a) Locked living units.

(b) Locked areas within living units. In the case of children or the physically handicapped, door knobs may be set high and above reach, or complicated release mechanisms may be installed. This permits staff to perceive the facility as "open" even though it is de facto locked;

(c) Doors made from heavy material; bedroom doors can be locked only from the outside, and often open outward rather than inward, as in most homes or offices.

(d) Barred windows. More sophisticated but equally effective are the reinforced window screens, or so-called security screening.

(e) Outdoor play areas enclosed by either high walls or high, strong fences or by both. Often, these areas are quite small (and therefore easier to control), and not sufficiently large, or equipped, for adequate exercise. Such small areas again permit the staff to engage in conscience-salving self-deception. I once inquired of a nurse whether the children in her locked living unit were ever dressed up and taken outdoors. She assured me that the children were dressed and taken for outdoor walks every day. The woman was not hypocritical; she was only rephrasing reality so that she could live with it. The reality was that these moderately to severely retarded ambulatory children did not leave the building confines for months, perhaps years, at a time. "Dressing" meant to put on more clothes than underpants and diapers; and "going for a walk outdoors" meant being turned loose in large groups with minimal supervision in a small outdoor enclave enclosed by high brick walls on two sides and high wire fences on the other two sides.

(f) A fence or wall surrounding entire buildings or even an entire facility complex.

(g) Segregation of sexes. Such segregation may assume absurd proportions when practiced with infants and children, or with the aged retarded.

A typical programmatic, rather than architectural, expression of the subhuman view surrounds the "feeding" of retardates. To this day, food and drink may be served in unbreakable tin reminiscent of prison riot films of the 1930's. Often no knives and forks are permitted. The latter measure also necessitates the serving of special foods, such as finger foods or soft homogenized pap that can be spooned.

3. Since the perceived subhuman is not believed to be capable of meaningful controlled choice behavior, he is permitted minimal control over his environment. This typically implies the following:

(a) Switches controlling the lights in resident areas such dayrooms, sleeping quarters, toilets, etc., are made inaccessible to residents by placement in staff control areas such as nursing stations, placement in locked cabinets, or keying (i.e., a key is required to turn a light on or off).

(b) Water temperature in lavatories, showers, etc., is controlled by thermostats. The water flow itself may be controlled by caretakers by means of removable and portable handles.

(d) Radiators are locked, recessed, or screened.

(e) Residents are usually forbidden to carry matches or lighters.

4. Perception of the retardate as an animal implies an emphasis on efficient "keeping" of residents, rather than on interaction with caretaker personnel. Consequently, the environment is designed for efficient supervision.

(a) Caretakers work behind isolating (protective?) partitions which keep out residents and perhaps even their sounds but permit extensive or complete visual monitoring. A stated rationale here may be that isolation makes for greater efficiency in certain caretaker tasks such as visual supervision, record keeping, administration of medications.

(b) Residents sleep in large dormitories, with no or only low partitions between beds. Lights may burn even at night to facilitate supervision.

(c) Caretakers engage excessively in tasks minimizing chances for interaction. For example, supervisory staff may be isolated in a separate building. Living units may be widely dispersed and removed so that ready interaction between staff and residents is difficult to achieve; in one such widely dispersed residential complex I have known, low staff interaction with residents was partially due to the fact that walking was both time-consuming and often not feasible due to bad weather, and driving was inconvenient because of lack of parking space near the residential units. Even staff meetings and in-service training activities can become an unconscious legitimization of noninteraction with residents.

(d) There is much emphasis on use of drugs (chemical straight jackets?), rather than human interaction, to control and shape behavior.

(e) The placement of residential centers far from population centers and towns can, in some cases, be a correlate of a "keeping" or "controlling" desire.

5. Subhumans are perceived to "live like animals," i.e., to soil themselves and their habitat. This results in design of an environment that can be cleaned easily, frequently, efficiently, and on a massive scale:

(a) Walls and floors may be made of a material that is virtually impossible to "deface," i.e., scratch, soil, stain, etc., and that can be hosed down (like in a zoo); there may be drains in the floors of living areas.

(b) Beds or bed stalls may be designed to be picked up and immersed in cleansing solutions in their entirety by means of cranes.

(c) Resident bathing facilities may be designed for efficient cleansing of large numbers of residents by small numbers of caretakers; there may be slabs, hoses, and mass showers, rather than installations conducive to self-conducted cleansing or the learning thereof.

6. Typically, subhuman retardates are either not expected to learn or develop appreciably, or the growth potential of retardates is seen as so small as to be irrelevant, since it will never lead to complete "humanization." In other words, the state of subhumanity is perceived as being essentially permanent. In consequence, the environment is designed to maintain a resident's level of functioning but not to provide opportunities for further growth and development.

7. Animals have no rights; it follows that retardates perceived to lack humanity are also perceived to lack certain rights. Among these are:

(a) The right to privacy. Toilets and showers for the retarded may lack partitions, curtains, or doors. Bedrooms often lack doors, not to mention that the bedrooms themselves may be lacking. Where doors exist, they almost always have window panes or so-called "Judas-windows" (complete with wire-enmeshed glass or peepholes). Private visiting space may be nonexisting.

(b) The right to property. Institutionalized retardates may have few or no possessions. Often they have no space to store possessions, or lack ready access to such space or control over it. Residents are usually denied the privilege of locking up their possessions, carrying the key, and using it without restrictions. Children typically do not have use of personalized clothing, and children of the same size (sometimes of various sizes, may share the same pool of clothes. All of these points have implications as to architectural design, especially regarding space allocations and selection of built-in furniture. Residents may be seen as not entitled to pay for their work, or to carry actual currency even if they do own money. "Poverty in a mental hospital is no less dehumanizing than in a slum. . . " (Bartlett, 1967, p. 92).

(c) The right to communicate freely. There may be censorship of incoming and outgoing mail, although some forms of censorship may not be perceived as constituting censorship. Telephone usage may be severely restricted. Visiting is usually restricted for several weeks after admission.

(d) The right to individuality. As described so well by Vail (1966), residents are regimented and managed in groups, even where individual management might be feasible. For example, residents are mass-showered where education for individual showering is possible; residents may even be mass-toileted, which accounts for the fact that some living units have more toilet seats than would be needed for, say, an equivalent-sized college dormitory.

8. The assumption that the retardate lacks esthetic sense is a subtle but important corrolary [sic] of the subhuman view. This corrolary results in the creation of unattractive residential living environments, since funds spent on beauty are seen as wasted on retardates. The drab, monotonous design and furnishing of retardates' residences (sometimes in contrast to staff living quarters) is usually a testimony to this view. Rarely does one see furniture that is both comfortable and attractive in lines and color in institutions for the retarded, and even yet more rarely is there furniture-zoning so that the furniture reflects the mood and function of different living areas in an attractive fashion.

The degree to which retardates can appreciate beauty is really only one of two important issues involved here. The second important issue is that observers' (e.g., the public's or employees') attitudes are shaped by the context in which retardates are presented to them. Even if intellectual limitation does impair retardates' esthetic sense, to deprive their environment of beauty is likely to predispose an observer to view them as subhuman.

Caretakers sometimes claim that drabness is due to lack of funds, but this is often untrue because much beauty can be provided at little or no cost. In my own institutional work, I recall trying to mount attractive pictures on walls of several children's living units that had a severely deprived atmosphere. There was no support for this project from the institutional power echelons; nursing and housekeeping services objected to the "defacing" of the walls; and the pictures which actually got put up were pulled down (by personnel) within days.

A 1964 prospectus, written by the staff of an institution, contained the following instructions to an architect regarding the design of a new residence building for adult and young adult "trainable" retardates: "All interior wall surfaces shall be of a smooth material, and without wall projections other than those specifically stated. All thermostats should be protected with a guard to avoid tampering. Window areas shall be kept consistent with patient needs. Excessive window areas are not desirable. Consideration should be given to using shatterproof glass in patient areas. Door louvers in patient areas should be made of a steel material to withstand patient abuse. Mechanical and electrical equipment and controls throughout the building shall either be tamperproof or located outside the patient areas. Maximum water temperatures for bath and lavatories must be automatically controlled to eliminate the possibility of scalding. Switches in large patient areas shall be located on the outside of the rooms. A cubicle measuring 24" x 12" x 12" should be provided for each patient." While such instructions are not conclusive evidence that the instructors held a "subhuman" view of retardates, such instructions certainly appear to be consistent with such a view.

It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the alleviation of dehumanizing and other undesirable management practices is ultimately more a matter of attitude, rather than of money as widely claimed. There have always been residential facilities that provided exemplary service at very low cost. Usually, such facilities were small, privately operated, and affiliated with religious organizations. On the other hand, one can point to public institutions in this country where even generous funding and high staff-to-resident ratios have failed to change old practices. Eight attendants can look at 75 residents from behind an unbreakable glass shield as easily as one attendant can, and I have known an institution where this was the sanctioned pattern.

The Retardate as a Menace. Unknown events or objects, if alien enough, tend to arouse negative feelings in both man and beast. Man's history consists mostly of his persecution of fellow men who were different in features, skin pigmentation, size, shape, language, customs, dress, etc., and it is apparent that man has been apt to see evil in deviance. It is not surprising that one role perception prominent in the history of the field is that of the retardate as a menace. The retardate might be perceived as being a menace individually because of alleged propensities toward various crimes against persons and property; or he might be perceived as a social menace because of alleged contribution to social disorganization and genetic decline.

The residential care model derived from the menace perception has much in common with the subhuman model. Certain features, such as segregation from the community, as well as segregation of the sexes, are likely to be accentuated. Since the menace model may ascribe a certain willfulness and evil intent to the retardate (in marked contrast to the medical model), an element of vindictiveness and persecution may enter into his management, and some of the protective features of the subhuman model may be omitted. Otherwise, residential features of both models have much in common.

The history of the menace model in the United States will be reviewed later in this essay.

The Retardate as an Object of Pity. One residential model is based upon the image of the retardate as an object of pity. Persons possessed of such an image will often hold one or more correlated views:

1. The retardate is seen as "suffering;" from his condition, and there is emphasis on alleviation of this suffering.

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2. Although the retardate may be seen as "suffering," he may also be believed to be unaware of his deviance.

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3. The retardate is seen as "an eternal child" who "never grows."

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4. Being held blameless for his condition, the retardate is seen as not accountable for his behavior.

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5. The retardate is viewed with a "there but for the grace of God go I" attitude.

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In residential care, the "pity image" will tend to be expressed in a paternalistic environment (1) which shelters the resident against injury and risk and (2) which will make few demands for growth, development, and personal responsibility. Both these features may imply infantilization and lack of risks and environmental demands such as stairs, sharp edges, hot water, hot heaters, and electric outlets, as discussed previously.

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The pity model has some features in common with the disease and subhuman models. However, there are important differentiating features. The pity model strives to bestow "happiness" upon the retardate, usually by means of emphasis on programs of fun, religious nurture, and activity for its own sake. This, in turn, is likely to result in allocation of generous space and facilities for music, arts, crafts, parties, picnics, and worship (e.g., a chapel on the grounds).

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It is no coincidence that the pity model shares features with the subhuman model: it has many similarities to Vail's (1966) definition of the "man-as-trivium" (i.e., a human being who is not taken seriously or given importance) mode of dehumanization.

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The Retardate as a Burden of Charity. A person with a strongly moralistic conscience but with little genuine humanism is apt to perceive the retardate as an object of a sour charity. This attitude can best be stereotyped as being that of the Victorian age toward orphans. In colonial America, handicaps were looked upon as the consequence of a stern providence meting out judgment for wickedness. Thus, a natural response to deformity and misfortune might be contempt more than sympathy, and whatever help was rendered was "cold charity" (Deutsch, 1949). The historical roots of state institutions were consistent with this view, since these institutions evolved, in part, from charitable homes for "paupers," orphans, vagrants, etc., (Bartlett, 1967). Even the first institutions for the retarded emphasized admission of children whose parents were unable to provide for their support (see Journal of Insanity. 1852, p. 29).

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The sour humanist may look upon a retarded resident as a kept object of (public) charity. Charity clients are seen as entitled to food and shelter, but not to anything interpretable as luxuries, frills, and extras. A residence based on this model will be austere and lacking in privacy, individuality, and opportunities to have personal possessions. The resident is expected to be grateful, and to work as much as possible for his "keep." An example of a Victorian "burden of charity" view is found in the following quotation taken from the Massachusetts report at the 1890 National Conference on Charities and Correction: "As to the State schools, it recognizes the value only of such teaching, mental or manual, as shall develop the boy or girl and tend toward a honest and respectable life outside the institution." "It disapproves of extravagant or luxurious appointments in institutions, as foreign to the spirit of true charity. The inevitable weakening of character by life in institutions, the arrest of development, must be prevented, if possible, by some hardships and privations, such as these boys and girls would be sure to encounter in their own homes or those to which they would be sent" (Reports from States, 1890, p. 329).

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Again, much of the physical environment implied by this model will be similar to that of the subhuman model; however, there are certain differentiating architectural and program implications. In a residence built on the charity model, there will be little emphasis upon segregation of retardates from the rest of society. There will be a grim and unimaginative emphasis upon eventual self-sufficiency, and while there will be little stress upon environmental enrichment as a means of fostering development, education and training in the traditional handcrafts are likely to be strongly valued.

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The Retardate as a Holy Innocent. Retardates, and possibly persons with other handicaps as well, have occasionally been perceived as the special children of God. As such, they are usually seen as incapable of committing evil voluntarily, and consequently may be considered to be living saints. It may also be believed that they have been sent by God for some special purpose.

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The role of the retardate as a holy or eternal innocent has been recognized in a number of cultures and eras. This role perception was reportedly prevalent among the American Indians, and in medieval Europe. The concept of "L'enfant du Bon Dieu" embodies this image.

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The holy innocent role has probably had a stronger influence on residential care thinking than is realized -- albeit in a subtle way. The holy innocent was generally considered to be harmless, or was indulged much like a child. His presence may even have been valued, as it made the beholder feel a bit closer to heaven and to God. Thus, this role perception tended to inhibit the development of specially designated residential facilities, as the innocent were gladly accepted and integrated into the family and the heart of the community. A contemporary example is the Hutterite communities in the United States, studied by Baton and Well (1955). In these communities, not one retardate had been institutionalized; instead retardates were accepted and integrated into the community life.

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While the holy innocent perception inhibited the development of special residential placement, it did not prevent it altogether. If residential placement was achieved, however, it tended to be of a very special kind. It might involve placement of the retarded in a childlike role in a godly home; as menial workers in religious communities such as monasteries; or as workers in nursing homes or hospitals run by religious orders. One variant of this practice exists in the Belgian town of Geel, where, for centuries, thousands of the mentally handicapped have been boarded in an atmosphere of sheltered benevolence in ordinary homes and have the liberty of the city. The presence of a religious shrine to St. Dymphna -- long believed to be the patron saint of the mentally afflicted -- gave rise to this practice.

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Despite its good intentions, the holy innocent model has common elements with a dehumanizing ("man as other") perception described by Vail (1966).

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The Retardate as a Developing Person. The developmental model takes an optimistic view of the modifiability of behavior, and usually it does not invest the differentness of the retardate with strong negative value. Retardates, even if severely retarded, are perceived as capable of growth, development, and learning. The developmental model is characterized by architecture designed to (1) facilitate and encourage the resident's interaction with the environment; (2) maximize interaction between staff and residents; (3) foster individuality, dignity, privacy, and personal responsibility; (4) furnish residents with living conditions which not only permit but encourage functioning similar to that of nonhandicapped community age peers.

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In other words, the developmental model provides an atmosphere as similar as possible to that of a typical home, while introducing some additional features which either compensate for handicaps, and/or maximize the likelihood of developmental growth. Administratively, the developmental model will naturally tend to be a decentralized one, in contrast to the medical model, as a resident-oriented atmosphere demands that staff in immediate contact with residents must possess flexibility and freedom to make rapid decisions.

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Specific features of the developmental model might include:

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(1) Homelike internal and external design.

(2) Colorful, light, bright, perceptually warm but diversified living units.

(3) Small, self-contained living units.

(4) Bedrooms for 1-4 residents.

(5) Family dining facilities.

(6) Homelike appliances such as toilets, faucets, showers, baths, stoves.

(7) Nonstandardization of design and furnishings of living units within a larger residential complex.

(8) Windows of normal size, type, and placement.

(9) Live-in care personnel.

(10) Plenty of space for individual possessions.

(11) Doors between rooms and areas.

(12) Curtains or doors for baths and showers, and toilets designed for private use.

(13) Homelike access to "controls" such as switches and thermostats. (The idea here, as with other features, is that potentially objectionable behavior will be modified by interaction with caretakers, rather than being made impossible by the design of the physical environments.

(14) Access to "risks," e.g., stairs, electrical outlets, hot water, etc. (Again, the assumption is that residents will be trained to act adaptively, and that controlled risk is part of normal life.)

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The developmental model implies less of a perception of the retardate as a deviant, while striving optimistically to minimize, or compensate for, what deviance there may be. In terms of the old cliche, the retarded are seen as more like, than unlike, others. Although particularly appropriate for children, the developmental model is equally meaningful when applied to adults.

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O. R. Lindsley once said that our society is willing to spend money on the design of environments that maintain life, but not on those that maintain dignified behavior. Of all management models, the developmental one is probably most likely to provide the framework for a cathedral of human dignity.

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Other Roles of the Retardate. In addition to the six roles discussed above, there are other rather well-defined roles into which retardates have frequently been cast. For instance, there is the role of the retardate as an object of merriment and ridicule, exemplified in an extreme form in the functioning of retardates as court fools and jesters. Though historically prominent, these roles will not be examined further because they have had little effect upon residential care models.

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The Meaning of a Building

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That buildings have symbolic qualities is probably universally recognized. This symbolic quality is the meaning referred to here.

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Samuel Gridley Howe was probably the most significant and fore-sighted figure in American history of special education. Through my perusal of original documents, I have formed the conclusion that his role has not yet been fully appreciated, especially vis-a-vis more flamboyant personalities such as Seguin. In 1866, Howe gave the dedication address at the cornerstone-laying of a new institution for the blind in Batavia, New York. By that time, he had been instrumental in founding the early U.S. institutions for both the blind and retarded, had been superintendent of the first such public institution for the retarded (in Massachusetts), and had already perceived and accurately defined most of the shortcomings under which institutions were to labor for the next 100 years. To capture fully the eloquence of Howe's statement on the language of architecture, I have excerpted several passages from his 1866 (pp. 13-16) dedication address:

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"Language is of vast extent, and speech is only one of its powers. By speech and by print, men of our generation hold intercourse with each other. There are, moreover, some sorts of language by which the generations of men hold intercourse with other generations, and by which they converse across centuries and cycles of time. Among the various forms of language between generations, and between the ages, monuments hold a high place.

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"As men and women unwittingly, and sometimes unwillingly, reveal their character, and even their secret motives of action, by the sort of language which they use, so the generations unwittingly reveal the prevailing ideas of the men who lived in them, by the works which they leave behind them. Consider the Pyramids of Egypt, and read the speech which they utter ... What say the ten million cubic feet of solid masonry, enclosing two or three small chambers, whose entrances are so narrow that the enclosed sarcophagus must have been placed therein before the walls were built; and those entrances afterwards closed up by huge blocks of stone, too heavy to be moved by any common force? What does all this tell? -- What is the language of that generation, spoken by the tongues of the pyramids to this generation?

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"It is, that the monarchs were absolute, selfish, cruel and short-sighted. That they built these vast monuments to preserve their fame from oblivion, and their bodies from disturbance ... The monuments tell us, moreover, that the people must have been ignorant, oppressed, and like 'dumb, driven cattle.'

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"They tell us, that great multitudes of men and women were driven in from towns and villages, to toil and moil, and lift stones and carry sand for weeks and months; and when some had died and all were exhausted, then that fresh gangs were driven in to take their places.

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"And so of smaller monuments, whether the triumphal arch, where the chained captive walks sadly behind the sculptured conquerors; or the storied column, with its winding procession of battles, assaults and sieges, leading up to the proud victor standing self-glorified on the top. And so of those which tell a better story -- the aqueducts, the fountains, the bridges, the canals, the docks and the like.

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"If we study the monuments which a generation built, and the kind of men in whose honor they raised statues, we may learn much of the character of the people themselves.

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"You are assembled to lay the foundations of a monument which will speak to future generations; and although what you grave upon the cornerstone, and what you put within it, should never be seen, the monument itself will talk to future generations; and what will it tell them?

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"It will disclose that the physical condition of the human race in this country was imperfect and unfavorable and that there were born to this generation, and expected to be born in the next, . . . children, numerous enough to form a persistent class. That children of this class were not only loved and cherished by their parents and kindred, but also cared for by the public. That there was no Mount Taygetus here, on which to expose them, with other infirm folk, to perish or be devoured, but asylums into which they were gathered and nurtured.

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"It will prove that the social and political union which here leagued three million people into one powerful State, was formed and maintained not only for defence against enemies, for common commercial interest, for great enterprises, for social prosperity and enjoyment, nor yet for mental culture and high civilization of the many, but also for the protection and care of the weak and infirm. That the State of New York, which could dig out a navigable river clear across her broad land, -- which had just armed and sent forth three hundred thousand sturdy soldiers to serve the common country and the cause of humanity, -- that this great State, while holding on in her high career of material prosperity, and providing schools for all the children, took thought also, that not even the . . . little ones should be neglected.

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"In such language will the building, those foundation-stone you this day lay, speak to many generations in coming time.

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"But, while thus noting with pleasure and even excusable pride, the humane impulses which prompt and which will carry forward the work, pardon me if I utter a word of warning.

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"Good intentions, and kind impulses, do not necessarily lead to wise and truly humane measure.

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"Nowhere is wisdom more necessary than in the guidance of charitable impulses. Meaning well is only half our duty; thinking right is the other and equally important half."

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A later superintendent from Massachusetts offered an equally relevant insight:

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"The history of the development of the human race has been most enduringly written in its architecture. A study of the architecture of a people reveals their dominant thoughts and ideals. The caves of the cave-dweller suggest man's early struggle for existence against wild beasts; the tents of the ancient shepherds the nomadic traits of these people in their moving from place to place in search of food for their flocks. The religious fervor of the middle ages is unmistakably recorded in the cathedral monuments of Europe. The creative and commercial ideals of nations are accurately recorded in their factories, warehouses, docks, highways, and office buildings, and their warlike instincts are well gauged by their forts, armories, battleships, tanks and aeroplanes; their educational interests by their schools and higher seats of learning; their interest in the sick and handicapped are clearly recorded in their hospitals and eleemosynary institutions" (Wallace, 1924, p. 256).

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Buildings for the retarded, like other buildings, can project many meanings. Certain of these meanings are of particular relevance to our discussion. I propose that at least three such relevant meanings can be readily recognized in retardation facilities: The building as a monument, as a public relations medium, and as a medium of service. Each will be discussed briefly.

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The Building as a Monument. Buildings are often erected, consciously or unconsciously, as monuments. In mental retardation facilities, this is especially likely to be true of administration and medical treatment units. The monument may be to a governor; a famous man; a foundation donor, or donor dynasty; or an administrator or professional who may want to achieve identity or "immortality" through this monument-building. Common examples of the latter are the aged superintendent or administrator who wants to make one last, only, or major, contribution before he retires or dies.

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While such aspirations often result in genuine benefits to mankind, they can also pervert the consciously verbalized or officially defined purpose of the building. For example, in order to fulfill its function as a monument, the building may be erected in a locality not consistent with optimal program development; available funds may have been so plentiful as to result in a building that is either larger than optimal or overequipped; limitations of funds may result in a building so small as to require wasteful duplications and adjustment later; the ambitions of the initiator may require a free-standing building where an additional wing or floor on existing buildings would have been preferable; or the concepts which the initiator imposes upon the building plans may force future human services into undesirable and hard-to-remedy patterns. Examples of the latter are donations of facilities such as swimming halls, medical buildings, or churches. The existence of such facilities often makes it very difficult later to establish a pattern of increased use of the community for recreation, medical services, and church attendance. Similarly, an expensive new service building designed to serve large numbers of residents can become a great obstacle to reduction of an institution to a smaller size.

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"Let us remember that our purpose is not to build costly monuments, at the expense of the taxpayer, to architects, legislators and governors or indeed to ourselves, ..." (Kirkbride, 1916, p. 256).

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The Building as a Public Relations Medium. A building, or an entire facility, can become a medium of public relations. While such a medium may produce desirable and beneficial results in the long run, the public relations functions may also be irrelevant and even detrimental to the welfare of current residents. A number of examples follow.

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1. The building may function as an advertisement for the architect. There are many instances of widely acclaimed buildings which had serious functional shortcomings.

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2. Innovations in design may become means of aggrandizement or advancement to staff or superintendents. Real benefits of novel designs may be blown up beyond all proportion. Other widely hailed design innovations may later be recognized as gigantic and foreseeable errors. For example, one institution in the late 1950's erected a new showcase nursery in which the infants' cribs had solid (and expensive) marble sides and wire mesh fronts. Among other things, this obviously could lead to injuries, especially to children with seizures. Only a few years later, the cribs had to be rebuilt at great expense. This was hailed as another dynamic innovation rather than as rectification of a predictable blunder.

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3. Finally, a building may be a public relations tool for a governmental or political body. The building may be designed to win votes or good will, to gain power by providing employment opportunities and/or patronage, etc. Again, such buildings may do more harm than good. Erection of large institutions in isolated areas has often been prompted by such public relations, rather than service, considerations.

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The Building as a Medium of Service. Finally, buildings may be designed truly and completely with service and function considerations in mind. In residential centers in the United States, such buildings are more likely to be encountered in private rather than public agencies. Too many of our public residential buildings and facilities reflect political, economic, and other considerations which have little to do with resident welfare.

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The Focus of Convenience of a Building

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Social norms demand that when a residence of some sort is constructed, we must pretend and proclaim that the building is designed for the convenience of the prospective residents. In reality, the building may be designed to serve the convenience of the builder (architect?). If residences are erected with public funds, the convenience of the community can easily become a primary consideration. If the prospective residents belong to a deviant subgroup that requires special management, then the building may be designed for the convenience of the "manager" (who is usually not a resident) rather than the "managed" resident.

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The Convenience of the Architect. Some buildings are designed for the convenience of the architectural agent. Such buildings may have required the least imagination, planning, and work from the architect or engineer, while perhaps resulting in the largest profit to him. Many ill-designed, ill-constructed buildings and building complexes bespeak an utter disregard for the prospective resident. However, the building as a monument to the architect, though perhaps well-designed for external beauty and effect, may also fall into the "convenience of the architect" category if resident welfare is neglected.

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The Convenience of the Community. The location of a large proportion of institutions in the United States was determined by economic considerations. Institutions were often placed in areas where jobs were needed, and placement became a very political matter. In many instances, institutions were located by the accident of land donations by job-hungry communities. Locations of this nature were not only ill-advised as far as the retardate was concerned, but also inconvenient to retardates' families. Furthermore, they resulted in professional and scientific isolation of the staff.

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To locate any human service agency with the needs of the server rather than the served in mind is analogous to requiring people to eat in order to provide employment to cooks.

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The Convenience of the Staff. Many buildings, when entered, leave little doubt that staff convenience was paramount in the designer's mind. Characteristic elements may include the following:

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(1) Caretaker stations providing maximal visual control over resident areas, while minimizing staff involvement; the glass-enclosed nursing station is a classical example.

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(2) "Segregated" staff lounges to which caretakers withdraw for meals, coffee, rest, etc.

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(3) Air conditioning for staff, but not for resident areas.

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(4) Services such as classrooms, beauty shops, barber shops, and therapy areas that are located in the living units, saving staff the effort of dressing residents or escorting them to other buildings.

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The Convenience of the Resident. If built for the welfare and convenience of residents, the location, size, type, and internal arrangement of most buildings and institutions in the United States would have been radically different from what they typically have been and are. Again, private facilities appear to have been more apt to be structured with the convenience of residents in mind.

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The Evolution of Institutional Models in the United States

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Having discussed certain architectural considerations, and having defined a number of models implicit in various management approaches to retardates in general and to their residential management specifically, I will now try to trace the residential service models that have been most prominently with us today.

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There is a riddle that holds a moral: if fish were intelligent creatures and had scientists and thinkers among them, what would be one of the last things they would probably discover? The answer to the riddle is supposed to be "water." After all, man discovered air only about 300 years ago.

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Why do we have institutions at all? Why were they built, and why are they the way they are, and not some other way? Like fish, we have grown up with the fact that institutions exist and that they are places where retarded people are sent. Taking institutions for granted, we have perhaps failed to consider that there are societies that do not have them, or have them in quite a different form than we know.

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The last major attempt to interpret rather than merely recount the history of institutions for the retarded in the United States appears to have been made by Davies (1930). (3) His interpretations have been accepted essentially intact by subsequent workers and writers in the field. However, we must consider that as elegant as his interpretations were, they were very close to many historical events he tried to interpret. With another 40 years of perspective behind us, it now seems appropriate to take a fresh look at history, and I will propose some new interpretations or elaborations in an attempt to gain further insight into the nature and origins of our institutional models. Particularly, I will try to demonstrate that attitudes toward deviance generally have had much to do with the original rise of institutions for the retarded in the United States, and with the way the more common residential models were shaped.

(3) Sloan (1963) brilliantly related the relevance of social movements to the history of mental retardation. However, his essay was not specifically concerned with institutions.

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Making the Deviant Undeviant

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Around 1850, institutions for a number of deviant groups in the United States were founded for the purpose of making the deviant less deviant. The main means whereby this was to be accomplished was education. In effect, the argument was that deviants had to be congregated in one place so that expert and intensive attention could be concentrated on them. I must take issue with the now prevailing notion that the aim of the founding figures in our field was to erase retardation in a child. From reading primary sources, I conclude that the goal was a combination of diminishing the intellectual impairment and increasing adaptive and compensatory skills of the pupil so that he would be able to function at least minimally in society.

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Wilbur (as quoted in Journal of Insanity, 1852, p. 31 ff.) stated:

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"We do not propose to create or supply faculties absolutely wanting; nor to bring all grades of idiocy to the same standard of development or discipline; nor to make them all capable of sustaining, creditably, all the relations of a social and moral life; but rather to give to dormant faculties the greatest practicable development, and to apply those awakened faculties to a useful purpose under the control of an aroused and disciplined will.

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"But great as are the benefits of education in ordinary cases, its achievements are still greater when, instead of increasing the capacities of the pupils, it substitutes capacities for incapacities; when it restores a class of human beings, now a burden to community, destitute of intelligence, degraded and miserable, to their friends and to society, more capable of development, under the ordinary circumstances of human development; nearer the common standard of humanity, in all respects; more capable of understanding and obeying human laws; of perceiving and yielding to moral obligations; more capable of self-assistance, of self-support, of self-respect, and of obtaining the greatest degree of comfort and happiness with their small means."

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The institution was seen as a temporary boarding school. After the child was improved so as to have mastered skills necessary in society, he was to be returned to his family and/or the regular schools. It certainly was not the intent of the pioneers that the institution should become a permanent home. For example, Samuel Gridley Howe said in 1851 of what is now Fernald State School: "This establishment, being intended for a school, should not be converted into an establishment for incurables" (Journal of Insanity, 1852, p. 270). "The early teachers of the feeble-minded jealously guarded their schools from the danger of becoming asylums. Admission was restricted to those classed as improvables..." (Johnson, 1898, p. 465). The institution was seen as ". . .a link in the chain of common schools -- the last indeed, but still one necessary in order to make the chain embrace all the children in the state" (Howe, 1852, pp. 15-16). The 1851 bylaws of the first mental retardation institution in New York, opened by Wilbur, are reported to have stated:

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"The design and object of the asylum . . . are not of a custodial character but are to furnish all the means of education to that portion of the youth of the state not provided for in any of its other educational institutions . . . Those only will, therefore, be received . . . who are of a proper school attending age, children between the ages of seven and fourteen, who are idiotic and who are not epileptic, insane nor greatly deformed."

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The pioneers also made efforts to distinguish between more and less modifiable retardates. Generally, children with symptoms of severe brain injury and with multiple handicaps were not viewed as good prospects (e.g., Howe, 1848; Seguin, 1870). "The most favorable subjects for training, as a general thing, are those who enjoy good bodily health, who are free from epileptic and other fits, and whose heads are not enlarged" (Howe, 1852, p. 12). "The institution is not intended for epileptic or insane children, nor for those who are incurably hydro-cephalic or paralytic, and any such will not be retained, to the exclusion of more improvable subjects" (Howe, 1852, p. 36). Seguin, after thirty years' experience, was reported to have said: "Idiots have been improved, educated, and even cured. Not one in a thousand has been entirely refractory to treatment, not one in a hundred who has not been made more happy and healthy. More than 30 per cent have been taught to conform to moral and social laws, and rendered capable of order, of good feeling, and of working like the third of a man. More than 40 per cent have become capable of the ordinary transactions of life under friendly control, of understanding moral and social abstractions, or working like two-thirds of a man; and 25 to 30 per cent have come nearer and nearer the standard of manhood, till some of them will defy the scrutiny of good judges, when compared with ordinary young men and women" (Seguin, as quoted by Carson, 1898, pp. 294-295).

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It thus appears that only some retardates were seen to be proper candidates for institutional education, and this education was to consist mostly of the transformation of poorly socialized, perhaps speechless, and uncontrolled children into children who could stand and walk normally, have some speech, eat in an orderly manner, and engage in some kind of meaningful work. It should be kept in mind that perhaps this was equivalent to near-normality in a simpler society than ours today, and that from this fact may have grown the myth of the "curing" hopes of the early pioneers. However, translated to modern conditions, the pioneers appeared to have aspired to not much more than to what our best classes for the severely retarded aspire and frequently accomplish. The pioneers did not so much speak of making normals of "idiots," as of "educating the idiot."

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The early pioneers held to a number of other ideas and practices of interest to our topic. One of the country's first institutions was privately operated by Wilbur. It was a "school . . . organized on the family plan. The pupils all sat at the same table with the principal, and were constantly under the supervision of some member of the family in the hours of recreation and rest as well as of training." "It was the belief of the managers that only a relatively small number of inmates could be successfully cared for in one institution. It was deemed unwise to congregate a large number of persons suffering from any common infirmity" (Fernald, 1893, p. 206; 209).

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"Nearly every one of these early institutions was opened at or near the capitols of their various states, in order that the members of the legislature might closely watch their operation and personally see their need for the results of the instruction and training of these idiots" (Fernald, 1893, p. 209).

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Indeed, the institutions were located in the very hearts of the community. The first public institution in the United States, established in Massachusetts by an 1848 act, was located for a time in a large rented residence in South Boston (Journal of Insanity, 1852, p. 27) "... in a crowded neighborhood" (Kerlin, 1885, p. 159). (4) Shortly thereafter, the first public institution of the State of New York was located in a " . . . large, spacious, airy, well arranged building on the Troy road, about two miles from the capitol ..." (Journal of Insanity, 1852, p. 28). This building, too, was rented.

(4) For a picture of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded in South Boston, see page 114 of the Proceedings of the Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Persons, 1880, Vol. 5.

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The rationale that retardates can be and should be removed from society in order to be trained for return to society, though of very questionable validity, is still alive today. We can still see this rationale implemented today, as when groups of adult community retardates are placed in an institution for 6 months of training under the Manpower Development and Training Act. However, it should be noted that the basic rationale for segregating the deviant for behavioral reshaping lacks adequate empirical foundation.

178

Essentially, making the deviant undeviant implied a developmental model. Furthermore, residential schooling was seen not merely as a privilege or worthy charity, but a right of the retardate and a duty of society. Again, Howe (1848, pp. 52-54) was a hundred years ahead of his time, and perhaps decades ahead of some of our contemporaries:

179

"... the immediate adoption of proper means for training and teaching idiots, may be urged upon higher grounds than that of expediency, or even of charity; it may be urged upon the ground of imperative duty. It has been shown, that the number of this wretched class is fearfully great, that a large part of them are directly at the public charge; that the whole of them are at the charge of the community in one way or another, because they cannot help themselves. It has been shown, that they are not only neglected, but that, through ignorance, they are often badly treated, and cruelly wronged; that, for want of proper means of training, some of them sink from mere weakness of mind, into entire idiocy so that, though born with a spark of intellect which might be nurtured into a flame, it is gradually extinguished, and they go down darkling to the grave, like the beasts that perish. Other countries are beginning to save such persons from their dreadful fate; and it must not longer be, that here, in the home of the Pilgrims, human beings, born with some sense, are allowed to sink into hopeless idiocy, for want of a helping hand.

180

"Massachusetts admits the right of all her citizens to a share in the blessings of education, and she provides it liberally for all her more favored children. If some be blind or deaf, she still continues to furnish them with special instruction at great cost; and will she longer neglect the poor idiot, -- the most wretched of all who are born to her, -- those who are usually abandoned by their fellows, -- who can never, of themselves, step up upon the platform of humanity, -- will she leave them to their dreadful fate, to a life of brutishness, without an effort in their behalf?

181

"It is true, that the plea of ignorance can be made in excuse for the neglect and ill-treatment which they have hitherto received; but this plea can avail us no longer. Other countries have shown us that idiots may be trained to habits of industry, cleanliness, and self-respect; that the highest of them may be measurably restored to self-control, and that the very lowest of them may be raised up from the slough of animal pollution in which they wallow; and can the men of other countries do more than we? Shall we, who can transmute granite and ice into gold and silver, and think it pleasant work, -- shall we shrink from the higher task of transforming brutish men back into human shape? Other countries are beginning to rescue their idiots from further deterioration, and even to elevate them; and shall our Commonwealth continue to bury the humble talent of lowly children committed to her motherly care, and let it rot in the earth, or shall she do all that can be done, to render it back with usury to Him who lent it? There should be no doubt about the answer to these questions. The humanity and justice of our rulers will prompt them to take immediate measures for the formation of a school or schools for the instruction and training of idiots.

182

"The benefits to be derived from the establishment of a school for this class of persons, upon humane and scientific principles, would be very great. The school, if conducted by persons of skill and ability, would be a model for others .... it would be demonstrated that no idiot need be confined or restrained by force; that the young can be trained to industry, order, and self-respect; that they can be redeemed from odious and filthy habits, and that there is not one of any age, who may not be made more of a man, and less of a brute, by patience and kindness, directed by energy and skill." "Now, we claim for idiots a place in the human family" (p. 17).

183

As the foregoing quotation and the one following below illustrate, the founding of the early institutions was accompanied by a pride, hope, and euphoria we can scarcely comprehend: "Let us now turn to the present: like Rome, we Americans can also boast of God-like men in our annals, and illustrious deeds on the historic page; as she had, we likewise are perhaps characterized by prominent faults, and by some compensating virtues." "Our eagles too have flown over a space equal to that which was traversed by those of Rome. To the Obelisks, and especially to the Cyclopean Coliseum we can show nothing equal or analagous. But we possess a class of institution scattered throughout our country, to which Rome was a stranger, and through which we have attained an exalted position that she never reached, or even had the soul to aspire unto" (attributed to an 1859 superintendent by DeProspo, 1966, p. 37).

184

Protecting the Deviant From the Nondeviant

185

As mentioned earlier, history appears to have wronged the founding fathers in ascribing to them the hope of "curing" large numbers of retardates. Our texts also seem to be partially mistaken in judging the early institutions to have failed to reach their objectives. Many residents were much improved under the tight and well-planned training regimens of the pioneers, and a substantial proportion of trainees did, indeed, return to the community.

186

About 26 per cent of residents discharged in Connecticut were believed to be self-supporting (Knight, 1879). In Kentucky, in 1884, alone, about 3 per cent of the residents of the state institution were placed into community employment (Kerlin, 1885, p. 166), and about 19 per cent of all new admissions were eventually discharged as self-supporting (Rogers, 1888, p. 102-103). "The experience of the past thirty years proves that, of those who are received and trained in institutions, 10 to 20 per cent are so improved as to be able to enter life as breadwinners; that from 30 to 40 per cent are returned to their families so improved as to be self-helpful, or at least much less burdensome to their people;" (Kerlin, 1888, p. 100). At Glenwood (Iowa), 68 of 195 residents were separated between 1885 and 1887, and 10 to 20 per cent of the residents appeared to attain eventual self-sufficiency in the community (Powell, 1887). "All of our schools for the feeble-minded have succeeded in sending out a goodly number of persons who are bearing bravely their share of the burden of life" (Rogers, 1888, p. 102).

187

There were, however, four problems:

188

1. There were bound to be failures with a certain proportion of residents.

189

2. For every resident successfully discharged, the statistical probabilities (due to the law of regression) were that his replacement would be less successful. It is hard to improve upon successful habilitation; it is much easier to fail thereafter.

190

3. Many residents who could have been partially habilitated had no place to return to, and thus, after some years, their continued presence reduced turnover. Seguin referred to this as early as 1870 as a ". . . paternal, not yet legalized, arrangement" (p. 12), and Fernald (1893, p. 210) later described it as follows: "In the course of a few years, in the annual reports of these institutions we find the superintendents regretting that it was not expedient to return to the community a certain number of the cases who had received all the instruction the school had to offer." "It was found that only a small proportion . . . could be so developed and improved that they could go out into the world and support themselves independently. A larger number, as a result of the school discipline and training, could be taken home where they became comparatively harmless and unobjectionable members of the family, capable, under the loving and watchful care of their friends, of earning by their labor as much as it cost to maintain them. But in many cases the guardians of these children were unwilling to remove them from the institution, and begged that they might be allowed to remain where they could be made happy and kept from harm. Many of these cases were homeless and friendless, and, if sent away from the school, could only be transferred to almshouses where they became depraved and demoralized by association with adult paupers and vagrants of both sexes. It was neither wise nor humane to turn these boys and girls out to shift for themselves. The placing of these feeble-minded persons always proved unsatisfactory. Even those who had suitable homes and friends able and willing to become responsible for them, by the death of these relatives were thrown on their own resources and drifted into pauperism and crime. It gradually became evident that a certain number of these higher-grade cases needed life-long care and supervision, and that there was no suitable provision for this permanent custody outside these special institutions."

191

4. Many people, as evident in our textbooks, had misunderstood the objectives of the pioneers in expecting complete and rapid cures in large numbers, and interpreting any lesser accomplishment as tantamount to failure.

192

At any rate, with the perceived failure of the institution as a school, and the inability of many adult residents to adjust to the community, ideologies changed between about 1870 and 1880. Developmental attitudes degenerated into pity and charity, and as they did, the residential model changed from a developmental one to a pity model. The idea grew that retardates should be viewed as innocent victims of fate or parental sin, and that instead of schooling, loving care and protection should be bestowed upon them.

193

"In the race of life, where an individual who is backward or peculiar attempts to compete with those who are not, the disadvantages are so great that the graduate from the idiot asylum really has no chance to succeed. The capacity of the individual is not at fault; but the world is not full of philanthropic people who are willing to take the Individual from the asylum and surround him with the proper guardianship which his case demands" (C. T. Wilbur, 1888, p. 110).

194

The term "School" began to disappear from the names of institutions, being replaced by the term "asylum." For example, in 1893, the "Custodial Asylum for Unteachable Idiots" was founded at Rome, New York. "Give them an asylum, with good and kind treatment; but not a school." "A well-fed, well-cared for idiot, is a happy creature. An idiot awakened to his condition is a miserable one" (Governor Butler of Massachusetts, 1883, as quoted by Rogers, 1898, pp. 152-153). "It is earnestly urged that the best disposal to be made of this large class of the permanently disabled is to place it in custodial departments of institutions for the feeble-minded persons, in buildings judiciously remote from the educational and industrial departments, but under the same merciful system that inspires hope and help for the lowest of humanity, and under a broadly classified administration that will admit of the employment of the so-called moral idiot, thereby diminishing greatly the burden to the charitable and the taxpayer" (Kerlin, 1888, p. 100). "The question of unimprovability then being once established, the only practicable thing to do is to furnish a home where, amid cheerful surroundings, in accordance with the state of our Christian civilization, and in a manner consistent with an age of practical economy, the mediocre imbecile may lead a happy, harmless, and measurably useful life in assisting to care for his fellows" (Rogers, 1888, p. 103). "They must be kept quietly, safely, away from the world, living like the angels in heaven, neither marrying nor given in marriage" (Johnson, 1889, p. 319).

195

"Institutions have changed their character, largely to furnish a permanent residence with congenial surroundings for these unfortunates" (Wilmarth, 1902, p. 157). Illinois erected a "hospital building" for custodial purposes in 1885; a custodial department was installed in Iowa the same year; Connecticut made its first appropriation for such a building that year; and Pennsylvania built such a building in 1886 (Kerlin, 1886, pp. 289-294).

196

The Institution was no longer to be a school, but a shelter, an asylum of happiness, a garden of Eden for the innocent. What doubt there may have remained was largely dispelled by the close of the century: "Slowly but surely the conviction has become general, especially among the trustees and officers of institutions, that admission as a pupil of the training school should be but the first step to permanent care; that, with a few exceptions, so few that they may be disregarded in establishing a policy, all the pupils of the school, from the lowest to the highest grade, ought to be permanently retained in the safe, kindly, maternal care of the state. The above conviction is held by all who have expressed themselves publicly within the last few years in this country, excepting a few persons whose pecuniary interests seem in conflict with such a theory. It has been acted upon by the legislature of many states, whose laws have been changed by removing from the institution code the age limit of retention, and in some cases of acceptance." "A belief in the necessity of permanent care for all this defective class is professed by the superintendent of every state school for the feeble-minded in the United States today" (Johnson, 1898, p. 467).

197

The protective residential care model emphasized benevolent shelter, but it bore the seeds of three dangerous trends: (1) isolation, (2) enlargement, and (3) economization.

198

1. The retardate was to be moved out of society, in order to spare him the stresses he was believed incapable of bearing, and to provide him with protection from the persecution and ridicule of the nondeviant. The idea that the retardate must be protected from society, rather than vice versa, was well expressed by Kerlin (1884, p. 260): "The general grounds of the institution should be hedged or fenced to keep off improper instrusion, but be freely used by the inmates for walking exercise and work." H. B. Wilbur (1879, p. 96) recommended that institution grounds be fenced ". . . for the privacy of the inmates." Thus, institutions began to be removed from population centers and located in pastoral surroundings.

199

Writers of the period waxed rhapsodic over their own benevolence and drew an idyllic picture of the new trend: "... Here and there, scattered over the country, may be 'villages of the simple,' made up of the warped, twisted, and incorrigible, happily contributing to their OWN and the support of those more lowly, -- 'cities of refuge,' in truth; havens in which all shall live contentedly, because no longer misunderstood nor taxed with extractions beyond their mental or moral capacity" (Kerlin, 1885, p. 174). "... God's innocent ones ..." (Kerlin, 11886, p. 288) were to reside "... in harmony with the spirit of a progressive age and a Christian philanthropy" (Rogers, 1888, p. 105) in " . . . noble institutions of the times -- those temples sacred to the restoration of fallen humanity, nearer Christ in his work than half the shrines dedicated in his name . . .." (Green, 1884, p. 269). These Institutions were being "... sustained . . . by an abounding popular sympathy . . . " (Kerlin, 1886, p. 291) and were "... supplementing the work of the creator" (Pickett, 1885, p. 449).

200

If the institution was to be a Garden of Eden, it needed lands and gardens, and sure enough, an emphasis on gardening and farming developed. Thus, Osborne (1891) stated: "Ample acreage (not less than one acre per patient) will be provided for the proper seclusion of defectives from the stare of the idle and curious . . .." Kerlin (1885, p. 165) described the Connecticut institution as being "... beautifully situated on a large farm . . .", and by 1915, Schlapp (1915, p. 322) was able to say: "Most of our institutions are beautifully situated in the country." To this day, the phrase "happy farm" (much like "funny farm") is occasionally heard in reference to state hospitals and institutions for the retarded.

201

2. The idea developed that if there was to be special protective care, it would be advantageous to congregate larger numbers of retardates together. If institutions had to serve both an educational and custodial function, and if, for several decades, the educational department of an institution turned over more graduates to the custodial department than the latter discharged (usually because of death), then it followed that institutions were under multiple pressure to grow. And grow they did. For instance, in Massachusetts, the first call by the trustees for substantial enlarging of the institution came in 1881, and this enlargement was to accommodate not only the "improvables" but also the "unimprovables" (Kerlin, 1885, p. 159). In Ohio, the transition from the smaller educational to the larger custodial institution was aided greatly by a disastrous fire in the year 1881. "Perhaps no trouble weighed more heavily upon the management than an effort to prevent the reconstruction of the building as an educational institution for feebleminded children." The issue was "squarely met," and $400,000 was appropriated to construct the "... best built and the best appointed institution in the world . . ." -- for 600 residents (Kerlin, 1885, pp. 163-164).

202

It is fascinating to trace the enlargement of institutions, and the fitful process of rationalization that accompanied it. First, to make room for rationalizing the enlargement, the pioneers' ideal of the small institution had to be destroyed. Paradoxically, this was done by accusing small institutions of "hospitalism": "It is the small institution against which may be pronounced the objection of moral "hospitalism." The large, diffuse, and thouroughly classified institution is another affair, and can be to its wards and employees as cosmopolitan as a city" (Kerlin, 1884, p. 262). "The growth of our institution to the proportion of a village, as earnestly urged by the superintendent, divides the board. The conservative element, which from the beginning has considered an institution of fifty or sixty children as the ideal, is still struggling against the inevitable. But thanks to Ohio, which continues to show us the way, in which all progressive States will follow" (Kerlin, 1885b, p. 369).

203

As usual, the irresistible trend toward enlargement was, at first, rationalized as being for the benefit of the resident. One detects the sentiment, present perhaps in all generations, that it is better for the deviant if he associates with his own kind: "We find that we must congregate them to get our best results. It is only from a large number that we can select enough of any one grade to make a group or class." "In order to have companionship, the most necessary thing in the education of all children, we must have large numbers from which to make up our small classes of those who are of an equal degree of intelligence" (Knight, 1891, p. 108). "We have also proved that we must have large institutions if we would get the best results; for, while the training of the imbecile must always depend mainly upon individual effort, yet the types are so diverse that it is only from considerable numbers that classes of a general degree of development are secured" (Knight, 1895, p. 153). "I believe that a large state institution is the best place for the feeble-minded or idiotic child" (Johnson, 1901, p. 410).

204

Others were more candid and advocated enlargement as a means of reducing cost, and during the pity period, the first arguments for the need of inexpensive care were heard. Wilbur had warned in 1880: "It will be readily seen that the cost of maintenance in such an establishment is a more important one than in the case of the educational institutions" (as quoted by Kerlin, 1885, p. 161). In about 1887, an act was passed in Pennsylvania which raised the number of state-supported residents from 400 to 500 while reducing the permissible per capita expenditure from $200 to $175 (Kerlin, 1888). "We have proved too, that in large institutions we can give employment to those adult imbeciles who are beyond what we call the 'school age' ... As superintendents of institutions we are working out new methods in management, in economy and education . . ." (Knight, 1895, p. 561).

205

Rogers, in 1888 (p. 106), took one last look over his shoulders, as he and the field plunged ahead: "... to those who fear the growth of large and unwieldly institutions we only say that matters of that kind must be settled by the communities which are responsible for them. If this danger appears, stop the growth and build another institution, but do not warp the usefulness of any by a narrow comprehension of its functions."

206

By 1893, Fernald (p. 215) had observed a phenomenon familiar to us all: "Successive legislatures have been ready to enlarge existing institutions when they would not grant appropriations for establishing new ones." Thus, institutions changed from small intimate homes, for children counted in the dozens, to huge facilities for thousands of residents, and in 1893, Fernald could already refer to institutions as " . . . these immense households" (1893, p. 218).

207

3. Initially, as a constructive substitute for educational activities, increasing emphasis was placed on the retardate's working. Purportedly, the work was "... not for the value of the work itself, but for its value to the child" (Kerlin, 1885, p. 162). "The work-shop where several such industries are carried on provides occupation and relief from the depressing ennui of idleness, and at the same time fosters physical development and intellectual growth" (quoted from a Massachusetts report by Kerlin, 1885, p. 159). "With their daily tasks, their feeble minds directed, the time taken up in work or exercise, their days are spent in safety, pleasantness, and peace" (First Annual Report of the Trustees of the New York State Custodial Asylum for Feebleminded Women, as quoted by Kerlin, 1886, p. 290), "... the farm thus serving to provide healthful and attractive occupation for the stronger members of the institution . . ." (Reports from States, 1896, p. 37).

208

As usual, however, noble sentiments gave way to utilitarian practices and the economic value of work to the institution began to be stressed: "... the trained capacities of the stronger shall be made available for the aid of the weaker and for the diminution of public charge" (Kerlin, 1886, p. 269).

209

The economic emphasis, in the rural America of about 1880, implied adoption of agricultural pursuits, which, in turn, required land. The trend toward farming combined with the desire to protect the retardate resulted in locating institutions in isolated rural areas. For instance, establishment of the first farm colony (the "Howe Farm") in Massachusetts in 1881 (Kerlin, 1885; Fernald, 1902) became the occasion for moving residents from the institution in the heart of Boston out into the country, and to the periphery of society. Kansas opened its first state institution in 1881 near Lawrence, seat of the University, and Leavenworth, one of the important crossroads of the West. Three years later, the institution was moved far away onto a farm near Winfield (Kerlin, 1885, p. 169; Status of the Work, 1886, p. 451) because the land had been donated and to deal a blow to the University.

210

While we generally approve of an emphasis on work, we will see later in this essay the vicious turn this work emphasis took, and how so-called "institutional work peonage" (Bartlett, 1964; 1967) developed as residents became indispensable to the functioning of the institution.

211

Vail (1966) has classified the pity attitude as a special and subtle type of dehumanization. This may have been very insightful, since once the developmental attitude changed to pity, pity lasted only about 10-20 years, and was followed by a long period of brutalization. In our society, pity is usually extended to a person who is perceived as suffering. However, much of suffering, as we conceptualize it, implies that the sufferer should receive some kind of help, which may consume the time, money, emotional involvement or efforts of others." Suffering, by its very nature, thus makes a demand on a conscience developed in the Judeo-Christian tradition. This demand, in turn, may create resentment, especially if the sufferer does not "get well," and resentment may lead to brutalization. The fact that one of the most influential social organizations between 1874 and 1917 was the National Conference on Charities and Correction is of relevance, as it shows that the bestowers of pity and the controllers of menace had great commonalities.

212

Protecting the Nondeviant From the Deviant

213

Preceding and paralleling the education and pity periods, there had existed a current of negative attitudes toward the retarded. These attitudes, the three dangerous trends mentioned in the last section, and a new conceptualization of the retardate, combined to shape a new institutional model which is essentially the model embodied in most of our large, public institutions today.

214

The Early Indictment. The image of the retardate as a social menace grew in a subtle way. As early as the mid 1880's, the alarm was sounded: "But the State, adopting as its policy the protection in institutions of the defective classes, acquires a right of inquest into the causes generating this tremendous burden to the thrifty tax-payer, who must be protected from the rapacious social ills which deplete his own strength" (Kerlin, 1884, p. 262). An early president of the National Conference on Charities and Correction was later quoted by Wilmarth (1902, p. 160) as having said: '"My child, your life has been one succession of failures. You cannot feed and clothe yourself honestly: you cannot control your appetites and passions. Left to yourself, you are not only useless, but mischievous. Henceforth I shall care for you.'" "Is there anything more worthy the thoughtful attention of the statesmen of our land than to improve our methods of support of the weak ones so that we may add to it the needed element "control?" (Johnson, 1903, p. 252).

215

"... Can it be deemed wise, either for society or the defective himself, to turn him loose after some years of training to make his fight for existence on his own behalf?" "No amount of moral training during his school life can render him capable of judging points of morality for himself or make him proof against temptations to which his natural tendencies incline him to yield. The end will almost inevitably be that he will drift back into the care of the state, but through the gates of crime" (Dunphy, 1908, p. 331). "What in the beginning was a philanthropic purpose, pure and simple, having for its object the most needy, and therefore naturally directed toward paupers and idiots, now assumes the proportions of a socialistic reform as a matter of self-preservation, a necessity to preserve the nation from the encroachments of imbecility, of crime, and all the fateful consequences of a highly nervous age" (Barr, 1899, p. 208).

216

Fernald (1915, pp. 289-290) summarized the trend as follows: "During the last decade four factors have materially changed the professional and popular conception of the problem of the feeble-minded.

217

1. The widespread use of mental tests has greatly simplified the preliminary recognition of ordinary cases of mental defect and done much to popularize the knowledge of the extent and importance of feeble-mindedness.

218

2. The intensive studies of the family histories of large numbers of the feeble-minded by Goddard, Davenport, and Tredgold have demonstrated what had hitherto only been suspected, that the great majority of these persons are feeble-minded because they come from family stocks which transmit feeble-mindedness from generation to generation in accordance with the laws of heredity. Many of the members of these families are not defective, themselves, but these normal nembers of tainted families are liable to have a certain number of defectives among their own descendants. The number of persons who are feeble-minded as a result of injury, disease, or other environmental conditions without hereditary predisposition is much smaller than had been suspected, and these accidental cases do not transmit their defect to their progeny.

219

3. The cumulative evidence furnished by surveys, community studies, and intensive group inquiries have now definitely proved that feeble-mindedness is an important factor as a cause of juvenile vice and delinquency, adult crime, sex immorality, the spread of venereal disease, prostitution, illegitimacy, vagrancy, pauperism, and other forms of social evil and social disease.

220

4. Our estimates of the extent and the prevalence of feeblemindedness have been greatly increased by the application of mental tests, the public school classes for defectives, the interpretation of the above-mentioned antisocial expressions of feeble-mindedness, and the intensive community studies. Goddard believes that at least 2 per cent of school children in the first five grades are mentally defective. It is conservative to say that there are at least four feeble-minded persons to each thousand of the general population.

221

There are reasons for believing that feeble-mindedness is on the increase, that it has leaped its barriers, so to speak, as a result of changed conditions of civilization" (Fernald, 1915, pp. 289-290).

222

One might add here that a fifth point was the belief that the retarded were reproducing at a more prolific rate than the nonretarded, and might therefore "outbreed" the latter.

223

The Peak of the Indictment. As time passed, the social indictment of the retardate grew more direct, severe, and shrill. Barr said: "Of all dependent classes there are none that drain so entirely the social and financial life of the body politic as the imbecile, unless it be its close associate, the epileptic" (1902, p. 163). Butler (1907, p. 10) added: "While there are many anti-social forces, I believe none demands more earnest thought, more immediate action than this. Feeble-mindedness produces more pauperism, degeneracy and crime than any other one force. It touches every form of charitable activity. It is felt in every part of our land. It affects in some way all our people. Its cost is beyond our comprehension."

224

"When we view the number of the feeble-minded, their fecundity, their lack of control, the menace they are, the degradation they cause, the degeneracy they perpetuate, the suffering and misery and crime they spread, -- these are the burden we must bear" (Butler, 1915, p. 361). "For many generations we have recognized and pitied the idiot. Of late we have recognized a higher type of defective, the moron, and have discovered that he is a burden; that he is a menace to society and civilization; that he is responsible to a large degree for many, if not all, of our social problems" (Goddard, 1915, p. 307). "... We preach . . . that . . . the feeble-minded at large unguarded are a menace to the community" (Cornell, 1915, p. 322). "... Those unfortunate members of society who fall so far short of the line of normal mentality as to be an inherent social menace." " . . . It is among this group that there flourishes the real peril to the mental and moral stamina of our nation." "The problem itself is the most serious facing the country today" (Schlapp, 1915, pp. 320-321).

225

Bullard (1910, pp. 14-15), in the strongest statement of indictment of retarded women, warned: "Girls of the classes described must be cared for by the state .... There is no class of persons in our whole population who, unit for unit, are so dangerous or so expensive to the state. This excepts no class, not even the violently insane. They are much more dangerous and expensive than the ordinary insane or the ordinary feeble-minded or the ordinary male criminal." He (1910, p. 320) added; "There is probably no class of persons who are more fitted and more apt to spread disease and moral evil than these girls," and "One evil girl may corrupt a whole village." "A single feeble-minded girl among a group of young boys becomes a plague-spot, the consequences of which are frightful" (Butler, 1915, p. 358).

226

It can be noted from the statements quoted above that while male retardates were seen as a "menace of the greatest magnitude," females were seen as even more dangerous, if this is possible: "It is certain that the feeble-minded girl or woman in the city rarely escapes the sexual experiences that too often result in the birth of more defectives and degenerates" (Fernald, 1912, p. 90). "... Imbecile girls and women everywhere are an easy prey to the wiles and lust of brutal men. . ." (Carson, 1898, p. 296). "Few of these girls permanently escape, unless they are specially cared for by wise and understanding people. Their care demands unceasing vigilance and constant thought, which can rarely be properly exercised outside of an institution. As a fact, these girls -- unless cared for permanently in an institution -- usually become immoral or are led away to make bad marriages. In either case their children are apt to be mentally defective, with more or less pronounced animal instincts, diseased and depraved, a curse and menace to the community. This goes on constantly increasing unless we take means . . . to prevent the production of children. The evil that one feeble-minded woman can cause through the production of feeble-minded children is incalculable. It has often been plainly stated: statistics have been carefully compiled and the results are too well known to need repetition before this Conference" (Bullard, 1910, pp. 333-334). "Feeble-minded vomen are almost invariably immoral, and if at large usually become carriers of venereal disease or give birth to children who are as defective as themselves. The feeble-minded woman who marries is twice as prolific as the normal woman" (Fernald, 1915, pp. 90-91). Schlapp (1915, p. 323) referred to "... the feeble-minded pregnant woman who is, naturally, unmoral." "The debasing and demoralizaing influence of an unrestrained feeble-minded woman in a community is beyond the comprehension of the uninformed" (Butler, 1907, p. 2).

227

Fernald was one of the strongest indictors: "And pauperism breeding other paupers, what is it but imbecility let free to do its mischief?" "The tendency to lead dissolute lives is especially noticeable in the females. A feeble-minded girl is exposed as no other girl in the world is exposed" (Fernald, 1893, p. 212). Later, (1904, p. 383) he said: "It is well known that feeble-minded women and girls are very liable to become sources of unspeakable debauchery and licentiousness which pollutes the whole life of the young boys and youth of the community. They frequently disseminate in a wholesale wa