A Case Study from the Vocational Guidance Clinic
- Author:
Madella Rigby, Recorder
The Psychological Clinic, University of Pennsylvania In May, 1929, Henry Le Sage came to the Psychological Clinic for Vocational Guidance. He was referred here by the Social Service Department of the University Hospital. It was the hope of the Hospital that the interest of the Rehabilitation Bureau might be the more easily aroused with an appended report of a psychological examination. At the time Henry was eighteen years and ten months of age.
If it is true that some people are especially susceptible to accidents, then this surely is one of those persons. Thirteen years ago (at the age of five) Le Sage fell and broke his right arm. Seven years ago he was hit by an automobile and suffered internal injuries. Six years ago he accidentally stepped on a live wire that had blown down in a storm and was badly burned down his left side by a 2,300-volt current. It was a wet night when this happened and the boy fell in a pool of water. It was some time before his companions could touch him in order to release him. He was taken to the hospital where his left leg was amputated because of the burns. He was held under observation there in the hospital ninety-nine days and spent one and one-half years thereafter at home in bed recovering. The expense was tremendous, he said?about $1,500. Though the affair was wholly accidental and no blame could be attached, the Electric Company has borne the expense. To continue with the history of accidents, two years ago Henry broke his left arm cranking a car. In December, 1928, he was admitted to the University Hospital because an ulcer had formed on his leg as a result of an improper fitting of the artificial limb he was wearing. A re-amputation had to be done and Le Sage is just waiting around now until the leg heals so that another artificial leg can be adjusted. He came to the Clinic on crutches. In discussing his accidents and his present physical condition, Le Sage rebels a little when he is told that he is a mighty lucky fellow to have come off so well. He declares that he hears this banality so much he wonders whether he really is so lucky?whether he would not have been luckier to have died of his burns. He feels his handicap keenly and yet he is not morbid in his attitude, nor resentful. The matter lias never been in Court. He realizes that the Electric Company has been very generous, and understands he has no case against it. In appearance he is a tall fellow, nice looking, neat, and with a pleasant disposition. He is not one to accept statements as true simply on the basis of their statements, but he questions things thoughtfully. His attitude toward life has not become embittered as a result of the long history of accidents he has experienced but he has evidently seen much to shatter all innocent credulity. On the other hand he has not known enough of success, nor tasted enough of the adventures of the game of life to have arrived at any vital, working philosophy.
Another angle of Le Sage’s personality is brought out by a study of his family background. The social worker on the case says that the family life is comfortable and friendly but relationships are a bit formal. There are, for instance, no family meals. Each member gets his meals by himself at a restaurant. There seems to be no maudlin sentimentality here?scarcely even any love wasted among the family. The mother works as a stenographer, and a younger sister, age sixteen, is also a stenographer. The father is said to be dead and these three live together. Le Sage told me his father had been a journalist. The mother is a Jewess of fairly good family. Henry went on to tell me that his mother married again twelve years ago, and Henry has a step-brother by this marriage. The child is now about ten years old and is away in a boarding school. In fact, the child spends little time at home?going from school to summer camp and back to school again. The mother divorced her second husband five years ago. It is easy to understand that the home life of this family has been upset and upsetting. They seem to have changed residences many times but no accurate history was obtained. “We know that Henry’s schooling was not very consecutive and we may infer that this was not due altogether to the series of accidents he suffered.
Henry’s education, then, has been sporadic. He did not enter the first grade in school but started in the second grade at the age of eight years. He did not have to repeat any work but stopped school in the 8 A grade because in his own words, “they seemed to have nothing to teach me.” This was four years ago when he was fourteen. “We have it from his own statement that his work in school ranged from good to excellent.
A CASE STUDY 207
By way of recreation, Le Sage likes to go fishing. He likes to be alone. He also likes to drive a car and says he manages very well with his artificial leg. He gets much pleasure from driving his friends about?when they cannot or do not care to drive themselves. He also enjoys reading?likes good books and reads intelligently and critically. He says Napoleon is his hero.
As to work interests, Le Sage seems to have certain definite ideas. He would like very much to be an auto racer, an auto repairman, a fisherman, a mechanical engineer, a scientific research worker, an electrical engineer or a civil engineer. He took a notable liberty with the printed sheet devised to uncover occupational ambitions. To the list of directions he added these of his own?”Draw a circle around E,” which he intended to mean “as great as the desire to live.” He placed his E encircled opposite mechanical engineer. As far as vocational experience is concerned, this boy has not passed his apprenticeship in any major occupation. He has, however, acquired a number of sidelines as any high school boy will do. Besides the pleasure he gets and gives by driving his friends about in their cars, he has worked as a soda dispenser. He says without boasting, that he is a good mixer, but he does not consider this any kind of a job. A year ago when he was in Miami with his mother, he worked as a soda dispenser but didn’t stay at it long. He had a chance to drive home in a Ford?his friends were all here and he wanted to get back and talk things over, tell about what he had seen and done?so he came home. He enjoyed the trip and seems happy to be back among his friends.
He has had some training as a dental mechanic. In fact he nearly completed the course but he found the work very boring and his fellow-workers were not to his liking?not his sort, he said. He doesn’t like being indoors working so close to people who are not intellectually stimulating, and the work itself is too mechanical to hold his interest. His dislike of it is very strong. He does not feel that he would be good enough to reach the top where he could make good wages.
Le Sage is fairly good at drawing. Originally he wanted to be a draftsman. He didn’t get far at this work. He says he would once have considered it as a means of livelihood but now he much prefers automotive engineering. It was suggested that drawing might help him in his engineering. He agreed, but he would only consider drafting as a means to an end?the end of working with combustion engines.
It was pointed out in a conference between Dr Viteles and Le Sage that he would have to face keen competition in auto mechanics and in drafting. In dental mechanics the field is much less crowded and the chances for advancement and success are greater. His leg would be far less handicap in dental mechanics, or even in drafting than in engineering, but he has made his choice by following his desire rather than his common sense. Mechanical Engineering, drafting, or even dental work would require more schooling and this boy has not gone beyond eighth grade. He was given a Binet examination to get an index of his proficiency in the field of language as related to school subjects. His Basal Age was fourteen. At the year sixteen he failed the reverse span of 6 (he was only able to give a reverse span of 4) and he did not receive credit for the code. At the year eighteen he failed the paper cutting test (over which he worked long and diligently) and the reverse span of 7. His vocabulary score was 76. His definitions were all very wordy, so wordy in fact that sometimes he would hover all around the meaning of the word before he actually gave it. His intelligence Quotient?incomplete for no Upper Limit was reached? was 110. Le Sage was also given the Otis Intermediate Examination. On this his score was 63 which gave him an Intelligence Quotient of 104.
The performance tests were only efficiency tests for him. He showed good co-ordination and an immediate comprehension of the problem. The three different series in the Witmer Cylinders caught his fancy. He was interested in trying to beat the game and made several attempts, timing himself. His first trial time was 32 seconds ; second trial was 35 seconds. On the Dearborn Formboard his first trial was completed in 45 seconds; second trial, 55 seconds. His score on the Healy Completion Test, of comprehension, was 57. The norm for year thirteen is 58.
The troubling factor in the psychological examination was the memory span: auditory forward 8, visual 8 and reverse 4. Here is the case of a boy with a physical handicap which greatly interferes with his following the vocation upon which he has set his heart. Just how far his mental endowments will prove a handicap depends on the interpretation of the memory span score. Le Sage has received some training (and the promise of help along this line of work from the Rehabilitation Bureau) in a trade where his physical condition would not prove so great a handicap, where less strenuous competition would make possible greater success, and he has no desire, no motivating force, no interest in this work. Interest cannot be prescribed like medicine?nor can disinterest be amputated like an ailing leg. Here is a difficult situation indeed, but from the point of view of vocational guidance the outlook is brighter than in the case of a boy with superior general competency but absolutely no strong interests. A short time later in May, Miss S., the social worker from the hospital, came to talk over with Dr Viteles the results of the recent examination of her patient, Henry. It is Dr Viteles’ opinion that the boy has average intelligence. In view of his fine intellectual motivation, his conversational ability, and the impression of personal competency that he makes, Dr Viteles was inclined to recommend high school training. Miss S. has found that the Rehabilitation Bureau will be willing to see him through a college course, if assurance can be given as to his physical condition. But Henry has not had high school education yet, and unfortunately the Bureau of Rehabilitation does not give financial aid to those in high school. It was suggested that Henry could get a job while he is studying and thus help himself. On the other hand, Le Sage’s relatives are known to have money. He has an uncle who is in the real estate business, and upon hearing this, Dr Viteles considered the idea of advising Henry to go into this line, where his crippled condition would provoke a sympathetic attitude in his prospective customers. But Henry is very independent. He does not want to solicit the assistance of these relatives. He is determined to be self supporting. So Dr Viteles is finding Henry somewhat of a rebel. Besides this strong desire for independence, he recoils at the idea of going into dental mechanics, which seems to be so well suited to him with his physical handicaps. He is rather foolhardy in wanting to try automotive engineering, for his leg will be a definite handicap in that line. He might specialize in ignition whch is the highest grade of work in a garage but he would have to lend a hand in all sorts of other jobs. The social worker is also finding cause for complaint in Henry’s behavior. Although he has talked with her intimately many times, he has now become reticent and will communicate little in regard to his private life. Personally, she is of the opinion that he is withholding information. She thinks that his father is really living and that the mother assumes the title of widow. She believes that her husband was not a Jew. Henry has never told her about his mother’s second matrimonial adventure. The close of the conference found Dr Yiteles leaning more to training at the Williamson Trade School than to a straight academic course in high school to be followed presumably by college training. So it was arranged that the possibilities of sending Henry to Williamson Trade School should be investigated. Meanwhile Miss S. would do all she could to get some financial aid in the case. Inquiries at the Williamson Trade School brought forth the response that only able-bodied young men less than eighteen years old could be admitted according to the requirements of the founder. A letter from the social worker on June 7, 1929 says that the Rehabilitation Bureau has offered Henry a job which he could not accept because he was still having trouble with his leg. The hospital believes it will be at least a month before he will be able to work. This piece of bad luck seems to be telling on Henry for Miss S. further begs that something be done to help Henry through the doldrums. He seems to feel a gradually increasing tension. He has been asking Miss S. if severe mental worry on the part of his mother at the time of his birth, would affect his present nervous state. He tells Miss S. that he feels he won’t live long, that something is going to break. A note appended July 1, 1929 showed increased anxiety on the part of the social worker for Henry’s mental health. He is expressing ideas about suicide?quite casual ones.
In July, Henry still had no job. The Rehabilitation Bureau was still trying to find one for him, and “Dr Viteles was trying to get some line for him to follow that would catch his interest and yet be better suited to his physical condition. It was suggested that he be apprenticed to a tool-maker, and it was agreed to let him try out in a garage?as much to satisfy his intense interest as to try to show him as soon as possible that automotive engineering would be most difficult for him. The Philadelphia Y.M.C.A. and the Camden Y.M.C.A. as well as the Philadelphia Health Council were the agencies recommended to assist in getting the boy placed. Apropos of Henry’s depressed state Dr Yiteles is of the opinion that his morbid tendencies can be adequately explained by the diffiA CASE STUDY 211 culties he has experienced. He is not a psychopathic type, and as far as we can learn, this depression has not affected his daily activities. Le Sage came into the Clinic on July 18, 1929. He was using his artificial leg very well?so well that there was a scarcely noticeable limp, so well that a class of students did not see it when lie spent an hour or so before them in a demonstration. As for his vocational outlook, Le Sage has tried everywhere to get a job, but with no luck. He applied at the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden for assembly work and was accepted. A physical examination, however, is required of every employe. This, of course, revealed the hitherto unsuspected artificial leg and Henry was released. Because of the high compensation paid in the State of New Jersey to workers previously injured, who are injured at their jobs, the Talking Machine Company cannot afford to run the risk of hiring handicapped workmen.
It just happened on the day Henry turned up at the Clinic that Dr Viteles was in need of a case that could be demonstrated suitably before a class of advanced students. He asked Le Sage to oblige him by submitting himself for the tests. Since he was not pressed for time, Le Sage agreed to be the subject and a very good one he proved himself. Certainly his readiness to cooperate showed a normal, healthy disposition. The test results showed a very high rate of motor discharge, good motor coordination, space perception, and analytic discrimination of form. In short, he seems well equipped with those abilities which make a good mechanical workman. Clinic closed for the summer and opened again in the fall. Nothing was heard of Henry. In October a letter came from The Junior Employment Service of the Bureau of Compulsory Education, the South Philadelphia Office. It reads:
My Dear Dr Viteles:
Last July Henry Le Sage, wlio had been referred May 4 to your Clinic for Vocational Guidance by Miss S. of the Social Service Staff of the University Hospital was referred to me for placement, and a copy of your clinic report was sent me. I was much interested in the report as it gave a picture of the whole situation. I thought you would be interested in knowing what Henry is now doing.
August 6, he was placed in a machine shop. It is a shop employing thirty to thirty-five men for general machine repair. Henry was employed as assistant to the staff foreman, to relieve him of any details, clerical or otherwise, that the foreman wished to turn over. After Henry has been there a year he is to have an opportunity to learn the mechanical end of the business if he wishes. His beginning wage was $15.00 per week.
Le Sage reported a month after employment that he was liking his work, and that so far as he knew he was giving satisfaction. Since then he has passed his entrance examination for evening high school and has enrolled in the standard academic course.
Henry might have had a placement last August to learn instrument making in a shop making instruments for air craft control, but the beginning wage would have been so low he could not have been self-supporting. Because of that he chose the machine shop. His present plan is to work where he is, as long as that is possible unless something better opens up, and to go on with his high school training.
I am planning to let Henry go as much as possible ‘’ under his own steam’’ while keeping close enough contact to render service if I can It was about this time that Henry dropped into the Clinic to speak for himself. He is looking very well?a bit thin, perhaps, but very happy. There is practically no noticeable limp. He is pleased with his job, happy to be going to school, and he is doing well at both enterprises. His only regret is that he has little time for reading. His feeling of independence is in a healthier state as a result of the wages he is earning which are adequate for the present. He was very much pleased to be remembered and he was made to feel the interest of the Clinic in his future. His problem is temporarily solved but Dr Viteles’ interest in the boy is still keen, and he impressed on Henry the fact that we want him to return from time to time to let us know how he gets along.
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