The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-05-09, Page 17Cr
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Do you know what x think you
are going to do tonight, Just he;
fore you g o to sleep? Watch the 11
o'clock'news. You wouldn't lila
right?
It's ..More than simple .curiosity
that makes us hungry for the
news. It could be one of , two
things, .a twisted masochism that
compels us to delight in hearing
and seeing all the oftenory'de-
.tails OR an undying optimi:
that keeps us hopeful that today,
just maybe, the good news will
outweigh the ;bad. I prefer to be-
lieve it is the latter.
And in believing that, I cannot
believe you are one of those who
would fear and discriminate
against a person with an iillnesa
mental retardation;
Those two words used to he bad
news. Like swear words, that's
how they were thrown around by
many. Many who didn't under-
stand. Or were afraid to try.
The dark ages when the
mentally handicapped just
weren't talked about except when
relating same eerie tale, are
over.
Before 1930 there were few spe-
cial classes for the retarded and a
• fear of possible hereditary
- causes*
From 1930 to' 1950 there was a
gradual opening up with the
formation of associations which
created the first special classes.
In ` the 1960's many mentally
handicapped people joined the
regular system. And • in 1969 On-
tario declared its bill of rights for
education for all, with school
boards taking over jurisdiction of
lichoOls for the retarded attd
eTollgateassesSchool ..or the
mentally handicapped was start-
ed in 1962 and, last year, it made
a move for which the entire pub-
lic should be thankful. It is now
'located in a special classroom in
TINY DANCER= -One ui Lite korner Toligate pupils does a
little step in time to the music,' which • is a favorite with the
children, who are now located in a self-sufficient classroom
unit in the Mount Forest District High School.
SHOWS .ARTWORK --Nancy and Deborah, two pupils at the special classroom for the
mentally handicapped, which is located in Mount Forest District High School, show off
some of their creations made during art periods.
the Mount Forest Distrid
School.
Mrs. Lucy Pickard, who ham`
taught the mentally handicapPeti
pupils for two years, belteVea the
move to the high achool hat
"proven we don't need to bide; -
away the mentally handi-
capped."
She says. the well-equipped
classroomand convenience
pm-'
vided by the high school facilitlee
"are not as important to my Pu-
pils
pils as is their ° being with him,
school studentsand talking with
them andpicking up ideas fry
them.".
The ten students take part in
constructing puzzles, learning
dress properly, learning to print,.
group reading, gym instruction,-
• sports such as volleyball, and: ice.
sponsibilities. They prepare and
cook their own food, clean ttit
after the meals and make sure
the classroom is clean and tidy.
Mrs. Pickard's program also
consists of numerous field trips
such ,as to Waterloo Park,• .
Doon Pioneer Village, the tBruce-4
Trail, gden Mills outdoor edttca4:,
tion site and snowshoeing at Bels:
wood Lake.
At first glance it is obvious the
former Tollgate pupils are„ •
happy., constructive, involved';`
with life and totally interested-
and
nterested and enthusiastic about their:
community and its people, u .a
Mrs. Pickard compares the
of these students to the "lifeless
ness in most institutions for the.
mentally handicapped." She?,'
says, "What is brainwashing but-''
the removal of Stimulus,and,
f constructive activity?” :
,Prior l t als"tett
Mrs. Pickard instr'acted
average students. and "gifted"
children, those with much higher
than average I.Q.'s and wider
learning capacity. `,You cannot
deal with special children if ;you
cannot deal with- normal ones.
And the retarded and gifted chil-
dren are both very special."
To strengthen the future of the
mentally handicapped, Mrs.
Pickard says "the community
and the government must give
. more support to parents of re-
tarded children.
"If a young couple has a re-
tarded child, they need specia-
lized day-care centres for him.
We must have the facilities to
provide specialized training. To
do this, the government has to
become more involved because it
takes funds and a minimum of
supervision. Certainly, it's costly
but it is better than having these
children get by on handouts all
their lives."
She says she would like to see
churches make more of an effort
for the mentally retarded. "I
have never yet heard a sermon
written to help them and have us
think more about how to help the
retarded:
"Naturally, retarded children
are different. They are slower to
v
the children for the past two years, says the move from
Tollgate School to the high schoril has given the children
confidence and sparked a great deal of interest from them
in bole su►rrouidinos.
SING -SONGS•. -Mrs. Oleida King of Mount Forest comes to
the class of mentally handicapped children in the Mount
Forest District High School every Thursday to play the
piano for their sing -songs. Mrs, Lucy Pickard, teacher of
learn, but tth can learn. In.
many ways, they are the Rune as
normal children because you are
looking for their strengths to
build on and their weaknesses to
strengthen."
Mental. retardation has been
defined as subnormal intelli-
gence, reduced capacity for
learning and condition due to im-
pairedpr••incomplete mental der
' velopment.
One out .of every 33 people can
same children ere making the
rest :progress in academic
learning as well, as to practical
areas.
Tests include the aforemen-
tioned I.Q. test, social maturity
tests and medical tests.
It isbelieved that social matu-
rity test has more validity than
the I.Q. test, which is limited ob-
viously because speech of the
child is often poorly developed
and physical co-ordination is
glue is missing, causing an
enlargement of cel.
A chemical disorder known, as
Hurler's or gargoyle disease can
also cause retafdati00, as can.
Tay Sachs' disease, 'where there
is too much fatty substancein the
brain.
Pheny etonurta or f?'.K.0-, : a
disease in which the body cannot
convert the phenyialinine . from
protein, prompts the toxic -
stance to circulate through, the
through:mechanical
suet .as. a, ' w, :,bhp
channel i# too *MAO or tbrOugh
cord atrangtilatlop cutting viff
exigen
o�: . v', ternied
anoxia, can als0 cause't to
to1O.bo•metitatix retarded as con e
beinor rl e.
a tow
problems ; can arise, rhibe
through an extremely fast. :dell
very blood , vessel' case .rupture
VISITING WITH FRIENDS—Mrs. Rosemary Stoner and
Mrs, Nellie Harcourt stop in to visit with some of the
children` in the specially designed classroom for the men-
tally handicapped located in Mount Forest District High
expect to have a retarded child.
That is, three.. per cent of the
population. Most of these, for-
tunately, are mildly retarded,
with one in 1,000 being severely
retarded and .4 per cent . are
moderately retarded requiring a
special education process.
Anyone, regardless of social
prominence, race or creed is
open to the possibility of having a
retarded child:
The I.Q. test, a comparative
measurement based on `norms'
derived from large groups of the
population is quite often used as a
basis for placing children in spe-
cial classes.
There are three main catego-
ries used to determine a level of
retardation: an I.Q. of 60 to 75 or
80 is termed mildly retarded,
from 30 to 35 or 60 moderately
retarded and under 30 severely
retarded.
However, the I.Q. is not a fool-
proof measurement of intelli-
gence and mental capacity. Ill-
ness, tiredness or even an anti-
pathy to testing can affect results
and, where emotional instability
is involved, it may not be possible
to get any valid measurement.
Language problems and envi-
ronmental deprivation also affect
results.
Mental retardation is detected
through observations indicating
much slower levels of develop-
ment in walking, talking and
other areas. The observations are
a natural comparison against the
norms.
Immediate cause for recogni-
tion of retardation is, sometimes
Physical differences at birth,
such as in the case of mongoloid
children. Mrs. Pickard says the
disadvantage to this, however, is
that "the child was often hurried
into an institution and it is more
than possible numbers were al-
1OWeda to die."
And yet, today some of these
School. Mrs. Stoner is a good friend to the children and
visits there often. Mrs. Harcourt taught the class for ten
years when it was located in the Tollgate School.
poor. Mrs. Pickard feels I.Q.
tests "still seem to have their ori-
ginal bias: that df discovering
what a child cannot do rather
than what he can."
Social maturity tests appear
more valid because it is of first
importance that any member of a
society accept certain basic
standards, says Mrs. Pickard.
In our society proper use of toi-
lets, keeping oneself clean in pri-
vate, saying `please and thank -
you', and others, are expected
from the child entering school.
"Whether our standards them-
selves are valid is another ques-
tion," expresses Mrs. Pickard.
There are numerous medical
tests in determining mental re-
tardation, the most common
being encephalogram, the well-
known pattern of the brain's
waves, and pneumonencephalo-
graph, a tomewhat involved pro-
cedure where the cerebral fluid is
tapped and air is blown through
the brain so that X-rays can be
taken to detect any gross areas of
damage.
CAUSES:
The abnormality has no here-
ditary basis in the overwhelming
number of cases, with only about
three per cent having an heredi-
tary basis.
Where two def etive parents
marry the offspring is often re-
tarded, but, Mrs. Pickard asks,
"How much of the resultant re-
tardation is due to environment,
poor language, little stimulation
and often inadequate diet?"
Although a rare occurrence,
diabetes can sometimes cause
retardation. Treatment is possi-
ble to prevent retardation due to
the disease.
Another disease that has been
known to cause retardation is ,
galactosemia, wherein the en-
zyme for converting galactose to
brain causing irreversible dam-
age, Treatment is a special low -
protein diet during the formative
years.
Certain severe illness can
cause retardation at almost any
of the stages of development.
Upon conception, if the mother
has been in contact with German
measles,, influenza or toxoplas-
mosis, all ' carried by animals,
these can affect the infant's
brain.
Drugs and chemicals such as
thalidomide, L.S.D., medications
used against cancer and dia-
betes, reducing pills and cycla-
mates are toxic to cells. X-rays
for the mother, in large doses,.
can cause microcephaly and
affect the baby's brain.
Everything except blood gets to
the baby through osmosis and,
therefore, it matters GREATLY
what the mother eats, drinks and
takes in the form of drugs and
medication prior to conceiving
the child and while carrying it.
At ♦1... fetus
the fetus siage a shock or
fall to the pregnanf mother can
cause spotting, meaning the egg
is implanted low on the uterus.
An expectant mother's emo-
tional upset may cause muscle
contractions Which can harm the
fetus. Toxemia, a condition when
the mother's kidneys cannot cope
with her and the baby's waste
products, can also cause brain
damage to the child.
A fact that should be well noted
is that there is. a high correlation
between mothers who smoke and
small babies. Also, there are
twice as many miscarriages
among the smoking sector of ex-
pectant mothers as the non-
smokers.
Nicotine makes the blood ves-
sels
exsels tighten, thus cutting off some
of the oxygen shpply and stunting
growth of the baby.
About 10 per cent of retardation
eases occur in birth, sometimes
because of the rapid change of
pressure.
Newborn, usually in the first
two days of life, are susceptible to
mental retardation if the mother
has an Rh factor. This is when the
mother develops antibodies when
the baby's blood mingles with
hers during afterbirth parting.
These 'increase after each birth -
and build up. They can attack the
baby's red blood cells but, now,
mothers can receive a serum to
prevent antibodies from forming.
Prior to the serum discovery,
'immediate blood transfusions
were given the baby.
Syphilis can also cause mental
-retardation.
During infancy, severe illness-
es such as meningitis, encephali-
tis or any disease, that brings a
very high temperature could re-
sult in mental retardation. De-
privation, both emotional and
nutritional, can be a big factor in
causing mental retardation. The
highest incidence of this occurs in
institutions, again stressing the
major need for family and com-
munity acceptance of and in-
volvement with retarded chil-
dren.
In childhood, accidents, espe-
cially head injuries, near suffo-
cation (smothering or drowning),
a retarded environment, malnu-
trition and the battered baby
syndrome can all cause mental
retardation.
In later years, excessive use of
alcohol and drugs such as L.S.D.
can destroy sufficient brain cells
to cause retardation. Although
existing cells seem to be able to
take over some functions of the
destroyed cells, brain cella are
irreplaceable.
Some physical abnormalities of
- victims of the Down's Syndrome,
commonly known as Mongoloid -
ism, are a flat head at the back, a
small brain case, an extra set of
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