Normal But Undomesticated
- Author:
Ellis Voss
Mt. St. Joseph College
During the early part of October, 1928, I received a telephone call from the secretary of a Children’s Home in Tucson, Arizona, requesting me to examine a girl who, to quote the speaker, was “as crazy as a tick.” Several days later, Conception, for so she was called, was brought to the clinic1 by a matron. She explained that a letter corroborating “the fact that the child was crazy” was desired by the authorities of the Home; in order that it might be produced in the Orphans’ Court, as an aid toward having the child placed in an institution for the feebleminded.
No history except that the child had been in the Children’s Home for several months, could be obtained from the matron. Conception was said to be about ten years of age, but there was no certain knowledge of that fact, nor even of her correct name. She was small and very dark skinned, with features not unlike those of the Yaqui Indians who inhabit the hills of northern Sonora, and southern Arizona. Her hair was almost straight, and black. Her eyes were black, seldom more than half open, and completely lacking in animation. She walked, or rather skulked along with her right index finger in her mouth, and generally presented the appearance characterized by the expression “a little whipped dog.” As no attention was paid to her when she entered, she squatted on the floor in a corner and remained perfectly still. Finally I went over, and sitting beside her asked, “What is your name?” For a while, there was no reply, but after several repetitions a semblance of a smile seemed to light up her face, and then without removing the finger from her mouth, she mumbled something which might have been her name. When asked if she would like to play some games, she did not answer, but as I arose and walked over to the table she got up and followed.
A peg board was produced, and she was told to put the pegs into the holes. This she did, working with her right hand but meanwhile having put a finger of her left hand into her mouth. Some questions from the Binet-Simon test were then asked, and when no response was received, a graduate assistant asked them in Spanish.
The appearance of a second person on the scene put an end to her performance for that day. The matron was given a blank which was to be filled out by persons who knew more about the child’s history, and a reappointment was made for a week later. “When Conception returned, she was in the custody of another woman, from whom we were unable to get much more information than had already been obtained. The Preliminary Information Blank stated that the child’s name was Conception P., age about ten, referred to clinic by the Home, upon the advice of the Visiting Teacher, because of abnormal sexual and social behavior. No pedagogical or medical histories were given. The mother, believed dead for three or four years, had been a Mexican-Indian. The father’s nationality was given as Mexican-American. He was said to be a heavy drinker and had not been seen for more than a year. The child had been taken from the street by a Nogales truant officer and, when neither family nor relatives could be located, was sent to the Home at Tucson.
On entering the Clinic, Conception, having lost some of her shyness, walked directly to the table, and sat down. A Seguin form board was upon it, and she was instructed2 to put the blocks away. The first trial took 135 seconds and the second 41 seconds, which was almost three times as long as had been taken by the slowest of ninetyseven nine year old Mexican children tested by Paschall. It is probable, however, that Conception had not thoroughly understood, for up to this time she had not spoken except when she mumbled her name during her previous visit to the clinic. The Witmer Cylinder test was presented, and instructions were given in English, Spanish, and by pantomime. The first trial was completed in 185 seconds, which was superior to two of the ninety-one normal Mexican children who completed the test within 300 seconds when tested by Paschall, and superior to ten per cent of the ten year old school children tested by Murphy.3 She failed to solve the Dearborn Formboard in ten minutes, but took the blocks out and played with them. She could not name colors in either English or Spanish, but readily matched colored blocks. On the Healy Completion I, she made a 2 For methods of procedure and scores, see Paschall and Sullivan, Racial Influences in Mental and Physical development of Mexican children. Comparative Psychological Monographs, Volume ITT, Series 14, October, 1025. score of 209 which was equal to the twenty-fifth percentile of children tested by Paschall. After a rest period, she was tested with the two, and then the Five Figure Form Boards. The first was completed in 227 seconds, the second in 291 seconds. Both of these performances were superior to those of eight of Paschall’s ninety-seven cases. Her memory span ?tapping?was six. Her height was 47.5 inches and weight 53 pounds, which are about median for girls of eight years. This ended the examination, but as she had become quite interested in some toys, she was allowed to remain and play with them for some time. The authorities at the Home were interviewed and it was learned that Conception suffered from nocturnal enuresis, and had masturbated in the presence of other girls. She enjoyed playing with sticks rather than toys, except when she could destroy them and cause other children to cry. As a result, one of the matrons told the children not to mind that “crazy little imp.” Several weeks after the examination, while at the Home, I saw Conception playing by herself. Upon asking one of the other children why Conception was not with them, she replied, “Oh, she’s crazy.”
After considerable effort to determine something more definite about the family history, we learned that the father had left the mother in Nogales, Sonora, shortly before she died, and Kad taken the child with him to Tucson. Here, in 1925, while drunk, he had gotten into some difficulty with the local police and had left for Nogales without troubling to take his daughter along. Conception had been found on the street by a Mexican woman who recognized her and took her home. About six months later, the father returned to Tucson, located the girl, and soon after left town with her. In April, 1928, a truant officer in Nogales discovered the child eating from a garbage pail. As she could not, or would not, talk much, in either English or Spanish, little information was gained from her, although it was believed that the father had gone back to Mexico, deserting his daughter at the border.
Quantitatively, the results of Conception’s performances were superior to ten per cent of the Mexican-American children in the Tucson schools. Qualitatively, she lacked language ability, intellect, vivacity, and social conformity; but evidenced a high degree of iniNORMAL BUT UNDOMESTICATED 99 tiative, persistent concentration of attention, interest, observation, planfulness, and above all intelligence.
Aided by tlie mild, dry climate of the Southwest, she had solved the many complex problems with which she had been confronted, even to the extent of obtaining food. Because of a strong motivation and the use of intelligence, Conception succeeded in overcoming difficulties which might have taxed the ingenuity of many girls twice her age. Although socially non-conformed, her control had been sufficient to avoid serious difficulties during the indefinite period she had been left to her own resources.
Upon entering the Home, she was suddenly confronted with environmental problems which were entirely new to her. Cleanliness, a thing to which she had never been subjected, was beyond her conception. Her destructiveness was not necessarily an indication of unwillingness to become social. For years, she had been forced to amuse herself without companionship. The children had not treated her kindly, and her response indicated a natural tendency to return their behavior in kind.
It is not unusual for children, when neglected or left alone, to learn to masturbate.4 Although such conduct is harmful to the child, and if practiced in the presence of other children may lead to unfortunate complications, it is in no way an indication of feeblemindedness or mental deficiency. Her deficient language ability was also apparently the result of inadequate social contacts and neglect.
Her performance and history indicated that Conception lacked above all social conformity,?a very natural result of the neglect and abuse to which she had been subjected. As a result she was not diagnosed as “crazy,” in accordance with the request made by the Home; but a letter was written indicating the exact results of the examination, and recommending that she be given every opportunity to become social, and “live.” Six months later, I again saw Conception at the Home. She was playing with two other children, and held a doll in her arms. 4 Rockwell, A. J., “A Study of Causal Factors of Masturbation in a Girl of Six Years.” Psychological Clinic, Vol. XVIII, pp. 236-241.
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