American Public Health Association Meeting
NEWS AND COMMENT.
The American Public Health Association, whose membership covers the United States, the Dominion of Canada, and the Republics of Cuba and Mexico, will meet this year in joint session with the National Mouth Hygiene Association at Jacksonville, Florida, November 30th to December 4th. At the same time the Southern Health Exhibition will be open, its displays including almost every phase of health conservation work, such as rural sanitation, typhoid, hookworm, tuberculosis, pellagra, malaria, school construction and medical inspection, infant and child hygiene, midwifery, vital statistics, milk and water supply, food and drug inspection, habit-forming drugs, insect carriage of disease, fly eradication, plague prevention and rat extermination, as well as laboratory work and modern sanitary apparatus of every sort. The combined meeting offers an opportunity which no one engaged in public health work should miss. A preliminary announcement, giving the program and details as to transportation and hotel accommodations, may be had from the secretary, Professor Selskar M. Gunn, Boston, Mass. A Psychological Clinic in New Brunswick, N. J.
A Psychological Clinic was started this summer at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J., in connection with the summer session of the State College. The direction of the clinic was put in charge of Dr Margaret Otis, psychologist for the State Home for Girls. The ostensible purpose was to furnish an advanced course for teachers and supervisors, to give them practical work in the application of mental tests, yet the work accomplished by members of the class proved to be of unexpectedly great practical value in that the children tested benefited by the advice given as a result of their examination.
The chief work for the summer was the testing of children from an Industrial Home, and a report on the mental condition of the children was given to the authorities at the close of the session. Aside from the examination of these children, a number of special cases from the town were brought to the clinic. Among these five institutional cases were studied, one of them a cretin, twelve years of age, who exhibited all the characteristics of her type.
Some of the students who had already had training in clinical work were given special problems in the way of certain tests applied to the cases in hand. Some of these were: the Completion Test, the Fable Test, the Wells FormLearning Test. The results of these tests were used to help determine the mental capacity of the children examined.
Thirty-six cases of children from the Home were considered, fifteen boys and twenty-one girls, varying in age from three years to fifteen. These furnished interesting material to study, different types of temperament and disposition, varying mentally from the bright, alert school child to the case of decided defect. They were classified into the following groups: (I) Normal; (II) Backward; (III) Defective.
I. Those in the normal group numbered twenty-three, though two of these furnished instances of speech defect. One boy of ten had a cleft palate, but had made good progress in school work and had the ambition to become a florist. Another little boy of three whose mother was a deaf-mute could talk but little, yet his hearing was acute and he could make himself understood in case of necessity by signs, and he seemed possessed of normal mentality for his age. Seven children in this group tested well and also were found to be doing the school work that they should, giving promise of benefiting by an education. Seven others, young children between the ages of three and six, who possessed normal capability, had not yet been started in school work but gave promise that they would develop normally and would benefit by whatever instruction could be given them. The remaining eight showed from the testing that they had normal capacity, but they were quite backward educationally. This fact could be explained because of their lack of school opportunity from early childhood. These children were recommended for special instruction in order to remedy the neglect from which they had suffered in the past. They are all decidedly hopeful cases and can be helped.
II. The backward group consisted of three girls, two thirteen and one fifteen years of age; and four boys, one ten, one eleven, and two twelve years of age. One case, a girl of thirteen, was one of a family of eight children. The mother was dead and the father a drunkard. She was attractive and well-formed but below the average in physical development. She was bright, spoke well, and seemed ambitious. She could do very satisfactory work about the Home and said she would like a home “outside” and more schooling. She was decidedly a hopeful case and would no doubt improve if an opportunity could be found for her. Next on our list are two sisters, thirteen and fifteen. They are problems, for as their home environment is not good, and as they soon will be too old to be kept longer in the Home, their future is dubious. They are not capable of benefiting by more schooling, and are fitted socially and industrially to be domestic servants. The best thing for them would be to be placed in some household where they would receive care in return for their services. The four boys in this backward group are recommended for manual work. Two cases where the backwardness is very pronounced may prove to be cases of defect. They should be watched carefully and retested from time to time..
III. The defective group consists of six children, five girls and one boy. Two girls, twelve and ten years of age, are sisters of the backward girl of thirteen described above. The grandparents were French of respectable origin, but the father was a dissipated man. The mother’s health was always poor. The defect seems to run through the family. Neither of these girls is capable of succeeding in life and they will need supervision permanently.
A girl of thirteen, four years retarded, has the physique and appearance of a child of ten years. For ten years mentally she does things well. She cannot do school work suited to her years. She might be trained for domestic service and work for some one who would take an interest in her.
A girl, seven years of age, furnishes an example of the unstable type nervously. She is an illegitimate child, and was placed in the Home about two years ago. Not much information can be obtained as to her parents. Physically, she is above the average of girls of her age. She is very affectionate and rather boisterous. She laughs a great deal and without provocation. The recommendation in this case was that she should be placed in a special class, and watched closely to see if it is a case of permanent retardation.
Two children, a boy and a girl of Slavic origin, eight and six years of age respectively, are the last on our list. The father is dead but the mother is living and a very good woman. She pays for the support of the two children. The boy’s physique is irregular and his eyes have a peculiar stare. He is very reluctant to speak or to express himself in other ways. His attention is wavering and he is not equal mentally to other boys of his age. He is a candidate for a special class. The girl is a very amiable child, but refuses to talk above a whisper. She is hydrocephalic. She is listless and does not try to do anything that is asked of her. It is doubtful if she can develop into a normal woman. The children may be improved by special class work.
Much interest in the clinic was shown by the people of the town, and several parents brought their children in to see if they were as advanced for their years as they should be. It is hoped that another summer the work of the clinic can go on and have the co-operation of the public school system. Also it would be a help to the settlement work that has been started in New Brunswick to have expert advice on some of the problems which are troubling the social workers. Meeting of the American Psychological Association.
The American Psychological Association will meet this year in conjunction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. The session will be opened by the President, Professor R. S. Woodworth, of Columbia, on Tuesday of Christmas Week, December 29th, and continue on the following days. For the general gatherings of the Psychological Association, the Board of Managers of the University Hospital has granted the use of the Medical Clinic Room, which will seat 200 to 300 persons, is well equipped with projection apparatus, etc., and has several entrances. The University Hospital is only half a block distant from the Laboratory of Psychology in College Hall, where smaller meetings of committees and sections will be held.
The Headquarters of the Association will be the Hotel Walton, Broad and Locust Streets, about fifteen minutes by street car from the University. Several other hotels near the Walton offer equally comfortable accommodations for members. The social possibilities of the occasion will be cared for by the University of Pennsylvania, which will entertain the Association daily at luncheon. This will give an opportunity for informal conferences, making the members better acquainted and facilitating the transaction of business, as well as adding greatly to the enjoyment to be had from the meeting.
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