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A considerable proportion of mentally defective children under this Act prove later to be
mentally defective under the Mental Deficiency Act, but an individual with a low scholastic capacity
does not necessarily require "care, supervision and control for his own protection or the protection
of others," in other words, there is no social or biological incapacity present.
Approximately 40 per cent, of the children attending Leinster Road M.D. School are educationally
retarded and might be dealt with under the Education Act, 1921, subject to the legal interpretation
of mental defect under the Act. The remaining 60 per cent, of the children are mentally defective
within the meaning of the Mental Deficiency Act. The majority of the former cases would be suitable
for transference to classes for Dull and Backward children if such were available.
(3) The Dull Child.—There is no definition of a dull child in any Act of Parliament. The dull
child comes between the normal child and the definitely mentally defective child, the dullness being
due to an inborn mental impairment, i.e., to intrinsic or mental factors. There is, however, no sharp
line of demarcation between the normal child and the dull child on the one hand and the dull child
and the mentally defective child on the other hand, the various grades merging into one another.
Later in life dull children are capable of maintaining themselves in an occupation without care, supervision
or control. They shew 1 to 2 years' retardation in ordinary school subjects.
The causes of dullness are various as may be seen from the following classification taken from
the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education for 1922:—
Dull Children—Intrinsic or mental factors.
(a) Weak General Ability—Inferiority of all-round mental efficiency, not sufficiently
pronounced to be denominated mental deficiency.
(b) Specific Scholastic Inability—Affecting several or one group of subjects, often compensated
by aptitude in other directions.
(c) Character defects—Inborn instability.
(d) Impaired Mental Growth—Associated with slow physical development.
(4) The Backward Child.—This child also stands between the normal child and the definitely
mentally defective child, the backwardness being due to extraneous or non-mental factors. There
would appear to be no reason why such a child should not develop into a normal individual provided
he receives the appropriate treatment, scholastic, medical or otherwise.
The causes of backwardness are various, as may be seen from the following classification taken
from the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education for 1922:—
Backward Children—Extraneous or non-mental factors.
(a) Irregular Attendance—Late admission, frequent or prolonged absence due to ill-health,
exclusion for uncleanliness, infectious diseases, home negligence, migration.
(b) Inefficient teaching in earlier years—Discontinuity between infants and senior
ments, change of teaching methods with change of school.
(c) General Physical defect, General Physical weakness, malnutrition, loss of sleep,
excessive fatigue from out of school employment, bad home conditions.
(d) Special Physical Defects—Tonsils and Adenoids, visual and dental defects, deafness,
external eye and ear diseases, skin defects, paralysis, speech defects, &c.
(e) Character Defects—Arising out of environmental experiences, laziness, inattention,
temper, disobedience, &c.
Ascertainment of Mentally Defective or Dull or Backward Children.
For the purpose of ascertaining the mental category to which a child belongs examination is
carried out by means of the Standford Revision of the Binet-Simon Tests, and the mental age is
ascertained. The ratio of the mental age to the chronological age is expressed as the Intelligence
Quotient (I.Q.) or Mental Ratio (M.R.), i.e., Mental age x 100
Chronological age. = Intelligence Quotient or
Mental Ratio.
For example, the Intelligence Quotient of a child whose mental and chronological ages are both
nine years would be 100. If, however, the mental age was 7 years and the chronological age 9 years,
the Intelligence Quotient would be j x 100 = 77. It is also necessary in arriving at a diagnosis to
ascertain the scholastic attainments of a child, and for this purpose a series of tests have been devised
by which it is possible to determine the child's mental age for Reading, Spelling, Dictation and
Arithmetic.
The following classification of Intelligence Quotients are regarded as standards:—