By Violet Vulliamy
, Principal, Hampstead School of Physical Education
The place of Physical Education in the general education of mentally deficient children, has yet to be fully recognised. The normal child, given average health and opportunity, will develop the necessary ability for the simple skills without special training; he will have enough spring to jump off and on a bus, enough balance and co-ordination to climb over a high fence, or to stand on one leg to tie up his shoe lace?enough postural sense to stand and move without being conspicuous. The mentally deficient child (limiting the use of this term to denote the imbecile and low-grade feeble-minded), on the other hand, requires efficient teaching step by step, if he is to learn to use his full powers and to take his part in the everyday physical activities of the ordinary citizen. The basic skills, which are the birthright of every child: standing, sitting, walking, running, skipping, galloping, swinging by the arms, balancing, climbing, jumping, etc., frequently lie dormant or only partially developed in the child who is mentally deficient. Careful training from the earliest years is necessary if the disabilities and deformities arising from Neglected movement are to be prevented. This need for physical education in the widest sense, thus begins in infancy and continues throughout all the growing years.
The most ideal scheme of physical education for the mentally defective child would therefore comprise many forms of training in movement. A large institution or occupation centre might, for instance, provide for the following range of physical activities with individual coaching as required. (Class physical exercise lessons in small selected groups. General activity exercises and games in larger groups) :?
Dancing.?Ann Driver Music and Movement Very simple Rhythmic Dancing Easy Country Dancing, in selected groups. Remedial Exercises.?Simplified and taught as required. Games and Sports.?Of a simple kind, e.g., running, high jump, rope skipping, easy ball games, in selected groups.
Every mentally deficient child presents an individual problem to the teacher of Physical Education. Unfortunately such specialised care is usually impossible owing to large numbers. Careful grouping, therefore, becomes a matter of greatest importance, if more than mere physical exercise is intended. It is obvious from the outset that the usual age grouping is unsuitable for mentally deficient children. Indeed, one of the greatest difficulties in dealing with these children lies in their marked individual variance; they can neither be grouped entirely according to age, ability, or growth, nor does interest necessarily keep pace with age. Yet all these four factors, age, ability, growth and interest, must be taken into consideration in any careful grading. Probably the most satisfactory solution lies in arranging the main grouping according to age and growth, with sub-divisions in each main group for finer grading according to ability and interest. The scheme for a large institution for mentally deficient children would thus include the following six main groups with sub-divisions:
I.?Infants?under 7 years, mixed classes. A group, physical ability age 4- 5 years B group, physical ability age 2- 3 years C group, physical ability age 0- 2 years II.?Pre-Adolescents?Juniors, Boys and Girls, 7-14 years. A group, physical ability age 5-10 years B group, physical ability age 2- 4 years C group, physical ability age under 2 years III.?Adolescents?Seniors, Boys 12-14 years; Girls 12-18 years. A group, physical ability age 8-12 years B group, physical ability age 4- 7years C group, physical ability age under 4 years IV.?Young Adults?Boys, 14-25 years; Girls 18-30 years. A group B group MENTAL WELFARE 103 V.?Adults. VI.?Physically Defective Children.
A group, children with marked postural defects requiring some individual coaching B group, children with structural defects or paralysis, requiring adapted remedial exercises.
Progression, which is the keynote of all work in Physical Education for mentally deficient children can only be secured if some such grouping is provided. The mentally deficient child can be trained to use his mind with his muscles to his fullest ability, if the work is so graded that he is neither discouraged by exercises beyond his capacity, nor bored or deadened by exercises which appear to him as purposeless and dull.
In the above table the term ” physical ability age ” has been used to denote the standard of work possible for the particular group, but it must be recognised that mentally defective children require specially adapted work, owing mainly to their limited intelligence and lack of co-ordination. This is clearly shown when any large class containing a few sub-normal children is observed. These children are at once noticeable through their peculiarity of posture or movement?and a more careful survey would probably reveal most of the usual difficulties of the mentally defective child?notably, bad posture, lack of spring, uncertain rhythm, difficult co-ordination and balance, slow response and feeble muscle sense. The performance of the exercises by the more normal children would also emphasise many of the special difficulties of the mentally defective and retarded child, there would be the child who never uses his ankles, who runs, jumps and walks with a flat-footed gait, the child who cannot skip, the child without muscle sense who distorts all movements, the child who cannot maintain a set rhythm, and many others with awkward and unnatural habits of movement and posture. It is evident, therefore, that the Physical Education of the mentally deficient child must differ in many respects from that of the normal child. The organisation of the work must allow for more individual attention, and the actual class teaching must also vary in many essential features, particularly as regards pace and choice of exercises. The pace of the class must be slower, but at the same time interest must be maintained by ingenious slight alterations in commands and directions, and by suitable adaptations of the exercises to the intelligence of the class. The exercises also must be kept simple, though varied, for it must be admitted that in the case of defective children it is always a question of suiting the exercise to the child, rather than fitting the child to the exercise. It is, for example, deplorable to find mentally deficient children with poor muscle sense and co-ordination, struggling continually with Indian Club exercises, when they are still unable to perform such simple activities of child life as running lightly, landing from a spring without a jerk, or even catching and throwing a ball. It is these elementary activities which are required. Every exercise should, in fact, be used to serve its purpose for the healthy development of skill and strength.
Much valuable help can be given in this respect by the non-specialist teacher through the use of general activity lessons. These should follow a definite scheme, based on the needs of the mentally deficient child, and the exercises should be selected to give as wide and useful a physical education as possible. The effect of the exercises on the growth, intelligence, skill and emotional development of the children should also be observed and considered. The scheme of such a general activity lesson, and the order of the timetable might develop along the following lines :?
I. Introductory Exercises A. Posture Correction from side and front view, e.g., ‘ John is very tall to-day’ or ‘ Can you see over the head of the boy in front of you?’ This correction should be very short and should serve as an opportunity for the teacher’s observation of the children’s bearing and carriage. B. Easy activity exercises, based on natural movements?zvalking, running, galloping, skipping, jumping, etc.
II. Floor Exercises: sitting or lying Trunk mobility movements, exercising chiefly the abdominal and lateral trunk muscles.
All trunk movements constitute a real problem for teachers of mentally deficient children, owing partly to their difficulty in localising movement, and partly to their dislike of unusual or uncomfortable positions. Floor exercises are generally most satisfactory in this respect, as they help to localise the movement and are particularly useful for the practice of exercises which strengthen the abdominal wall. The non-specialist teacher will usually find it wiser to avoid giving trunk movements from a standing position with the exception of exercises in the forward stoop position or very simple side flexions.
Class Practice Exercises
A. Dance movements with music. Rhythmic jumps. Many mentally deficient children can move gracefully and rhythmically, and most can imitate a rhythm or keep time to music. It does not, however, follow that they are ” musical ” in the true sense of the word?in fact the majority have little appreciation of the full significance of rhythm. Some form of training in music and rhythm is, however, essential, but this can only be given by teachers who are themselves musical, other teachers will need to fall back on ” rhythmic jumps.” These are usually much enjoyed by mentally defective children, if given in a very simple form. They are frequently placed at the beginning of the table, but are here moved from their customary place to serve as a break, after the rather less interesting floor exercises.
B. Nezv Exerciscs taught or practised, usually arm, or combined arm and leg movements.
The mentally defective child’s movement is generally both limited and awkward, owing mainly to a lack of incentive, initiative and experience. The A B C of movement, mastered by a normal child in pre-school days is often very deficient in defective children. This is amply shown in most of the reports of the early history of these children, which frequently give ” walked late ” as a special feature of the physical and mental condition of the child. Such a report is indicative of the general lack of experience of movement usually found in mentally defective children. It is thus imperative that all physical training should aim at increasing the child’s knowledge of movement. The fundamental movements of everyday life must be mastered and the child’s repertoire enlarged if he is to gain freedom and ease of movement. This can best be effected by actual careful teaching of new movements requiring concentration and skill.
Easy leg and arm movements are included under this heading. IV. Group Practice Exercises (section work) Practice in groups, of spring and balance exercises. This section group work serves two purposes, it gives opportunity for the free practice of balance and spring exercises, and at the same time it allows opportunity for individual coaching. In order to keep up the pace of the class, the spring exercises are used as a break after the new exercises, which require more mental effort.
Athletics and Sports Coaching
Skipping with a rope. Ball exerciscs, simple sport activities, etc. This rather high sounding name is purposely used to emphasise the necessity of giving to the mentally defective child a share in the ordinary play activities of the normal school child. Every mentally defective child, for example, should be able to run lightly, to jump over a low rope easily, to balance walk a plank or bench, to jump a narrow ditch, and to play sensibly with a ball. Many Mentally defective children, however, lack the determination and initiative required to get over the initial difficulties of even these simple activities and are, therefore, dependent upon help and training in the early stages. It is only necessary to watch trained, mentally defective children playing with a ball or skipping, to realise how much these simple sports contribute to their health and happiness. It is usually best to begin the work of this exercise group by teaching or practising these exercises in their simplest form with the class as a whole, allowing the children to separate afterwards into different groups according to their ability. This gives opportunity for the enjoyment of individual gifts by those children who have special abilities and interests which may never find outlet in the ordinary class work?the microcephalic child, for example, who has exceptional spring, or the older girl who is capable of enjoying neat and quite advanced footwork.
Game
The game spirit is present in practically all mentally defective children, though the sense of competition which is sometimes considered as the essence of enjoyment in games is frequently absent in all but the higher grade mentally defective children.
There is, however, no need to emphasise competition where the competitive spirit is absent. The children can play all these simple games in their own way, and will in any case benefit from the mental and physical stimulus. So long as the child is enjoying the game, and learning to be more alert and active, the purpose is served.
Quiet Ending
A. Posture correction. Posture is one of the most important factors in the physical education of the mentally defective child, and definite postural training is required in almost every case. It cannot even be assumed that good posture will be achieved entirely as a by-product of general activity, except, naturally, in those few instances where environment and circumstance are exceptionally favourable. Special care and help are needed from the earliest years, if the mentally deficient child, and incidentally, also his family, are not to suffer all the discomfort arising from his continued bad posture and movement. It is, in fact, this very ungainliness of movement which makes the mentally deficient child so conspicuous?the heavy, round-shouldered girl with the shambling gait, the mongol child with flat-footed walk, the stiff, high-shouldered boy with the poking head?these can all be helped and even in some cases cured, by wisely adapted physical education. It is, in fact, probable that many of the deformities and disabilities of posture and movement now so prevalent amongst the mentally deficient might altogether disappear in course of time, if a planned scheme of physical education from the earliest years were more generally adopted.
Test breathing.
It is usually recognised that deep breathing is best encouraged by general activity exercises which will improve chest mobility and encourage complete respiration. At the present time, however, owing frequently to lack of early attention, mouth breathing and other respiratory difficulties, are very common amongst mentally deficient children.
The synchronisation of breathing with movement is nevertheless so delicate that taught respiratory exercises in physical education classes are usually unsuccessful, resulting only in forced, unnatural and stiff movements. It is, however, advisable that the teacher should notice and help individual children with faulty breathing habits, always bearing in mind the main features of good breathing, and in particular the great importance of chest mobility.
We hope to publish a second instalment of this article dealing with the physical education of dull, backward and unstable children in our next issue.?Editor. /
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