LC46324 0205 Reference Division au of Educational Research 1 : Bure | vos Considerations Edueation Building i Ohio State University 4 Columbus, Ohio The Organization of Special Education for Mentally Deficient and Retarded School Children Formulated by THE OHIO INSTITUTE Assisted by THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON SPECIAL EDUCATION OF OHIO LIBRARY OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Published by THE OHIO INSTITUTE 277 East Long Street COLUMBUS, OHIO October, 1925 CONTENTS 1. Growing demand for the organization of special classes for mentally deficient children in the public schools. 2. Lack of coordination of special education in Ohio. Organization of state committees on special education, and pro- grams of work. 4, Basic considerations to be recognized in the organization of special education for mentally deficient and retarded school _ children. 5. Organization of special classes in school districts having no '’ © psychological facilities. 6. Advisory service afforded through The Ohio Institute. CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON SPECIAL EDUCATION Miss Hannah L. Protzman, Chairman, The Ohio Institute Mr. 8S. H. Bing, Ohio University, Athens Dr. Edgar A. Doll, Training School, Vineland, New Jersey* Miss Anne Cowden, Supervisor, Special Education, Toledo Public Schools Miss Bertha Hisenbeis, Principal, Opportunity School, Columbus Dr. Mabel R. Fernald, Director, Psychological Laboratory, Cincin- nati Public Schools Mr. Howard R. Knight, The Ohio Institute, Columbus Miss Emma Kohnky, Re Special Education, Cincinnati Public Schools Dr. Bertha M. Luckey, Chief Psychologist, Cleveland Public Schools Dr. Francis N. Maxfield, Ohio State University, Columbus Mrs. Christine Ringle, Supervisor of Special Education, Cleveland Public Schools Dr. J. E. W. Wallin, Director, Bureau of Special Education, Miami University, Dayton Miss M. LaVinia Warner, Dept. of Special Education, Ohio Uni- versity, Athens * Formerly of Ohio State University. 1. Growing Demand for Organization of Special Classes in the Public Schools It is a recognized fact that the early training of the mentally deficient child, in many instances, determines whether he is to become a stable, law-abiding, and even self-supporting citizen, or a menace to his community and a financial burden to his state. Society is becoming more and more insistent that the public schools meet the problem of providing suitable training for the mentally deficient child whom the compulsory education laws compel to attend school. The teacher in the regular grades protests against his pres- ence in her class because of the hindrance to her efficiency in caring for those who can profit by her services. The parent of the normal child is beginning to recognize the educational handicap, as well as the possible moral hazard, to his own child if there be a child, or children, of low mentality in his room at school. The parent of the mentally deficient child is awakening to the fact that ignoring his problem serves only to increase it in the future, and he is demanding his right, as a tax payer, to the proper educational facilities for his child. The special class teacher is constantly demonstrating the value of her work by its transformation of many unwilling, unhappy and defiant children into contented, tractable and industrious ones. 2. Lack of Coordination of Special Education in Ohio In October, 1924, The Ohio Institute published: a brief report of the work being done in special classes for the mentally deficient in the public schools of the state. It stated that during the pre- ceding year forty school districts had maintained special classes of the type under discussion, but that each district was a unit in itself knowing little of what was being done in other districts. A diversity of opinion therefore prevailed as to the aims and pur- poses of such classes, standards of admission, tests to be applied, classification of pupils, methods of instruction, etc. This lack of coordination and uniformity is probably due to the fact that spe- cial education in our public schools is not centered under one head in the state department of education. 3. Organization of State Committees on Special Education As a result of the facts brought out in this report, a number of persons actively interested in the education of children of defi- cient mentality were called together by The Ohio Institute for the purpose of working out plans looking forward to a consistent development of special education in the public schools of Ohio. This committee organized itself into a state committee on special education—known as the Central Committee—and assigned to itself the work of setting up general principles and standards which might be acceptable to those districts already having special classes, and which might be used as a guide to other districts planning to establish them. The results of this committee’s work are embodied in this report. With the view of giving further practical help to school dis- tricts organizing special classes, The Ohio Institute organized three additional committees composed of psychologists, supervis- ors of special education and special teachers at work in the public schools of the state. To each committee was assigned a definite phase of work to develop in detail. The Northern Committee is at work on methods of super- vision of mentally deficient children of school age who either have been excluded from school or who are in industry. The Eastern Committee’s report will give suggestions for the classification of pupils in a district having but one special class; two special classes; three or more special classes; and the platoon system which adapts itself to school districts having overcrowded conditions. The Western Committee is attempting the difficult task of working out a feasible plan for providing training facilities for the mentally deficient children in a rural county unit. Included on this committee is the superintendent of schools of a rural county in the western part of the state who has offered his district to be used as a laboratory to test out the possibility and the practicability of the methods decided upon. 4. Basic Considerations in the Organization of Special Education A. General Principles a. The prerogative of public school education is an inalien- able right of “all the children of all the people”. In a democracy every child is entitled to certain educa- tional rights and privileges irrespective of race, creed, or so- cial, mental, or physical condition. Defective or deficient chil- dren have a right to the kind of education or training which will meet their varying physical and mental requirements. b. The fulfilment of the obligation of supplying universal education requires the skillful differentiation of instruction. The obligation to supply public education to all children can only be fulfilled by organizing flexible systems of schools, differentiated courses of instruction, and special schools or special classes adequately organized to meet the needs of the more pronounced physical, mental, educational and moral devi- ates, and efficiently to discharge the obligations due society which supports the schools in the interest of the general good. c. The practical application of the principles enunciated in sections a and b are subject to two important qualifications. First, some children are so mentally deficient that they do not constitute proper subjects for public school education. Second, it is not always easy to determine what type of spe- cial class will best meet the needs of every child who requires special instruction. d. In all cases either of contemplated exclusion from school or of preferential assignment to different kinds of special classes, the standards should be conservatively drawn. When possible, low-grade mentally deficient pupils as de- fined by regulation should be given a trial in a special class before they are excluded, while high-grade mentally deficient children should be given an opportunity in an ungraded class or in a low section of a reguiar grade before being assigned to a special class. Ungraded classes or adjustment classes are for children who are less seriously deficient and who may be Fe ee classified as borderline, all-round mentally defieient, or peda- gogically retarded but capable of restoration to normal grade. B. Admission Requirements The approximate admission requirements for children who are to be considered the most typical candidates for special classes as discussed in this report are as follows: Intelligence quotients: between 50 and 70 Mental ages (in terms of the Stanford-Binet): from 5 through 10.* However, no hard and fast admission limits can be set, as in many instances individual examination and study will show children outside the range indicated above who may be able to profit materially by attendance at special classes suited to their needs. While the main range of mental ages should be from 5 through 10, cases may be found where children with a mental level of 4 or even 3 (**) should be admitted to these classes. Children with intelligence quotients between 40 and 50 may be included at least on trial, provided they are sufficiently accessible to a special class. Children with intelligence quotients between 70 and 80 or 85 seldom find the academic work of the standard academic elementary curriculum suited to their needs. Where possi- ble, these children should be placed in an ungraded class for backward pupils, or in a slow section of the regular grades. If no such classes are available they often may fare better if * Dr. Wallin would have this read: “from 5 through 9”. ** Dr. Luckey and Mrs. Ringle would add here: “or as high as 11”. transferred to a special class for the mentally deficient. This is particularly true where the school record shows outstand- ing difficulty with academic work. In districts which can support more than one special class, it is important that a distinction be made between the lower grade cases that constitute more definitely groups for the mentally deficient, and the higher grade groups that may be included in so-called ungraded classes. ‘C. The Essential Requirements for Successful Special Classes a. Aims The aims of training in special classes should be to estab- lish such habits as may be valuable to the child in the social and industrial world in which he lives and works. Health habits, courtesy, regularity of attendance, punc- tuality, obedience, self-control, stability, and cooperation should be stressed. b. Examination Pupils to be assigned to special classes as mentally defi- cient should receive individual examination by a clinical psy- chologist experienced in dealing with the mentally deficient. The examination procedure to be complete should include a detailed physical examination; a psychological examination of the Binet-Simon type; one or more performance or psycho- motor tests; achievement tests in fundamental school sub- jects; the developmental history of the child; a statement of school history; and a statement of the conditions of the home and the environment from which the child comes. In the case of children to be assigned to ungraded or ad- justment classes, attention should be paid to any special dis- abilities—behavior, physical, mental or scholastic—which can be corrected. ec. Classification If the number of children permits more than one special class, the children in these special classes should be grouped as far as possible with regard to homogeneous mental ages. Practical consideration, however, may indicate the importance of attainment in academic subjects, conduct difficulties, varied physical development, or sex as bases of classification. d. Size of Classes The size of the class for mentally deficient children will depend very largely on the homogeneity of the classification. If the group is diverse, ten children may be a large class. If the children in the group are closely similar in abilities, twenty EDUCATK may be considered a maximum number. Other considerations such as the average mentality of the class, the type of instruc- tion insisted upon, the skill of the teacher and the practical administrative difficulties will enter. e. Curriculum The curriculum and its time apportionment will depend upon the average mental level of the class and the individual capabilities of the children. A hard and fast curriculum can- not be advised, as the peculiar nature of this type of education requires a flexible school program which can readily be ad- justed to meet the constantly varying demands made upon it. The following suggestions may be helpful: 1. For children with mental ages below 6 Assemblies, 5%; physical training, plays and games (including recess periods, under supervision), 20% ; train- ing in. hygiene, 5%; academic work (numbers, simple writing, drawing, fundamentals of reading, story telling, dramatics, nature study and rote music), 40%; manual and industrial arts, 30%. (The particular character of the industrial arts will depend upon local circumstances, equipment, and the teacher’s ability or skill. In general, these should be related to everyday activities.) 2. For children with mental ages of 6, 7, and 8 Essentially the same program may be followed as for children with mental ages below 6, except that in the academic work the content may be shifted in the direc- tion of more advanced work. 3. For children with mental ages of 9 and above The activities under plays and dramatics may be com- bined with manual and industrial work in class or school projects. Approximately 50% of the time may be used We aguas work, with greater emphasis on the use of ooks. f. Teacher qualifications _ The teacher for the special class for mentally deficient children should not fall below the general qualifications of teachers in the elementary grades. In addition, she will need special training, information, social vision, and experience re- garding mentally deficient children to be obtained preferably in teacher training classes in clinical, abnormal, or educational psychology, where the content is based on sub-normals, or in LC 4632 OB OS special training courses in institutions for the feeble-minded. She should also have a natural or acquired aptitude for manual and household arts and for other non-academic activities. Her success will be more certain if in addition to the gen- erally good personality qualifications of the ordinary teacher, she has rather better than average health, patience, tact, and love of children. 5. Organization of Special Classes in Districts Having No Psychological Facilities The Bureau of Special Education of Miami University, under the direction of Dr. J. E. W. Wallin, states that it is prepared to offer its services to do the necessary testing preliminary to the organization of special classes in those school districts which do not have the proper facilities within themselves. The main center of the Bureau is at Dayton. It is a state supported institution, and its services are free until the funds appropriated for expenses in- curred while giving this assistance are exhausted. Plans are also being considered whereby additional testing facilities may be made available to school districts in need of such help in order to organize special classes for the mentally deficient. 6. Advisory Service Afforded through The Ohio Institute There is no one department or agency officially responsible for directing, coordinating and developing special education for the mentally deficient in the public schools of the state. Until this lack can be remedied, The Ohio Institute, having a member of its staff on each of the four committees referred to in this report, will serve as a medium through which inquiries or problems pertaining to special education may be referred to the proper authority, or if advisable may be presented to one of the state committees for answer. LM 4286) mil i i can nsiderations in the organ a. OOK DEPOSITORY “Ji i