The term feeble-minded was used from the late 19th century in Europe, the United States, and Australasia for disorders later referred to as illnesses, deficiencies of the mind, and disabilities.
At the time, mental deficiency encompassed all degrees of educational and social deficiency. Within the concept of mental deficiency, researchers established a hierarchy, ranging from idiocy, at the most severe end of the scale; to imbecility, at the median point; and to feeble-mindedness at the highest end of functioning. The last was conceived of as a form of high-grade mental deficiency.
The development of the ranking system of mental deficiency has been attributed to Sir Charles Trevelyan in 1876, and was associated with the rise of eugenics. The term and hierarchy had been used in that sense at least 10 years previously.
During this time, institutions for individuals labeled as feeble-minded grew due to rising social concern and changes in education.
A London Times editorial of November 1834 describes the long-serving former Prime Minister Lord Liverpool as a "feeble-minded pedant of office".
In the United States, The Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Persons (AMO) was established in 1876 as a professional organization for institution superintendents. The rise in schools for students with intellectual disabilities since the 1900s reflects the growing commitment from cities, states, and private organizations to support these children, rather than an increase in the occurrence of mental disabilities.
For "feebleminded" children, which broadly connoted mental deficiency of various forms, special day-schools were established in the 1900s to promote efficient schooling. These schools focused on "educable" learning-disabled children, which classified children on two axes: a child's abnormality (need for special education) and a child's ineducability. For most families, institutions were places of last, not first, resort.
Some small, private establishments opened during the late 1800s, and early 1900s, such as the Pennsylvania Training School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Children, generally known as "Elwyn." Elwyn Institution provided a mix of short-term education and long-term care to residents with diversely ranging mental and physical disabilities.
Children in these institutions expanded their vocabulary, and learned their letters and numbers. If they were capable, they later progressed to study basic reading and writing skills.
Institutional daily life
At institutions, there were a variety of engaging activities to energize and stimulate the mind while diverting the "melancholic. For example, the Private Institution for the Education of Feeble-Minded youth in Barre, Massachusetts built cottages for each of the children's needs. These cottages were similar to spaces in other institutions, with large sitting and living rooms, "modern conveniences" (sanitation), a shop room with tool benches, recreation classes, and indoor games. When they were not learning basic reading and writing, it was common for residents to participate in unpaid domestic labor. At the Minnesota School for the Feeble Minded in Faribault, 18-year old Edna Collins became the ninety-eighth person legally sterilized in 1927. However, sterilizations were not a safe and effective substitute for permanent segregation and control.
Partial list of US institutions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
- Partlow State School for Mental Defectives founded in 1919 located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Florida Farm Colony for Epileptic and Feeble-Minded founded in 1921 located in Gainesville, Florida
Definition
The British government's Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded (1904–1908), in its Report in 1908 defined the feeble-minded as: