what exactely is an idiot?!

[Viktoria]

The fact that several adults were still being cared for at home may or may not signify that there was some mental impairment.
I well recall a family near where I lived  many years ago,and the older children were bright and working at responsible jobs but the younger end were all in deceasing age  to a geater degree mentally retarded.( I`m sorry about that unpleasant term)
The parents were quite old , father well into his 70`s when youngest was sadly born with Down`s syndrome. Mother quite old to still be having children. Downs is I think slightly more common in older mothers.Nowadays the children would have attended an appropriate school or would be integrated into mainstream schooling. But then there was very little other than a sort of containment.As the parents died the older siblings cared for the younger ones.It meant they had no life of their own and were afraid to marry.Probably because of the inherited condition of the next youngest which through my work I now recognise as Phenylketonuria- an inability to process proteins leading to mental impairment.
There are many causes why a family is so afflicted, a recessive gene etc. I feel so grateful that my own children were all O.K and my admiration for famlies who have children with special needs knows no bounds. When you think that a baby- perfectly alright -could  be brain damaged at birth through lack of oxygen for just a little while, it is amazingly sad that the baby`s heart could not  be monitored in the old days as routine.Women with deformed pelvises through malnutrition would always have long difficult births which of course have an adverse effect on the baby.

it is interesting too that unmarried mothers were often put in Lunatic Asylums.Viktoria.




 

[CarolA3]

One of my ancestors told his doctors about an aunt who suffered from 'bad epilepsy for 52 years'.

His Aunt Sarah was born in 1842/3 and did indeed die aged 52, having never married or left her parents' home - I've checked on FreeBMD and census.  Her medical condition is mentioned only once, in the 1881 census, where her occupation (domestic servant) is crossed out and the last column states 'Imbecile, an epileptic from birth'.

Presumably some enumerator made the alteration.  I don't think the family saw Sarah that way.  Times have changed, thank goodness.

Carol

[stanmapstone]

it is interesting too that unmarried mothers were often put in Lunatic Asylums.Viktoria.

Under the Mental Deficiency Act 1913 four "classes" of Mental Deficiency were defined:
Idiot ~ unable to protect themselves from common dangers.
Imbecile ~ could protect themselves from common dangers, but unable to take care of themselves.
Feeble-Minded ~ required care to protect themselves.
Moral Defectives ~ criminal or vicious personalities. Unmarried Mothers also became absorbed into this category.

See http://www.institutions.org.uk/poor_law_unions/imbeciles.htm
When ‘feeble-minded’ was substituted for ‘idiot’ in the 1901 census the number of persons recorded with mental disability rose markedly, because, apparently the former term was considered much less derogatory than the latter.  Some terms do have a formal definition in the UK although they are no longer used.

Stan

[angelfish58]

I have the death cert for someone who was described as being of "unsound mind" on the 1851 census and it states "idiotic" under occupation, cause of death was congenital decay and chronic bronchitis.

[Plummiegirl]

Sadly the Victorians were not very subtle in their naming of illnesses etc.,  I have a boy/man listed as Imbecile.

The terms idoit/lunactic and imbecile (have even seen Moron) do seem to be interchangeable and cover a mutlitude of "illnesses" they were not bother what illness just recording that a person in that house was not considered "normal"

And also due to their not being subtle about things I have a young child living with his grandparents & unmarried mother in 1911 and he is listed as "bastard" written in capital letters, granddad obviously did not approve

[stanmapstone]

Some terms do have a formal definition in the UK although they are no longer used :
Term Idiot  IQ 0 to 25  Modern term Severe learning disability
Imbecile  25 to 50  Moderate learning disability
Feeble minded (moron)  50 to 70  Mild learning disability
Those with an IQ of less than 50 usually need care throughout life and are unlikely to educable in the formal sense.


Stan

[Jeuel]

The terms only become derogatory because they are used to insult people.  At one time it was acceptable to talk about morons and spastics and mongols.  Now it isn't. 

I believe yonks ago I read a definition that gave various grades of mental impairment based on IQ levels, idiot was the lowest.

[rachelralph]

thanks all for the help. seeing as i havent posted any names and places as such i feel better for what im about to say, but if it is a genetic thing that labeled my ancestor an idiot, it may expalin a few things!

my mum always says your grandads the way he is coz he's not the sharpest tool in the shed! i love my grandad but he can be a very very harsh and rude man, and my mum always said he is like that because he never understands that its wrong to be that rude about people!

[stanmapstone]

I believe yonks ago I read a definition that gave various grades of mental impairment based on IQ levels, idiot was the lowest.

Well I gave them in my post before yours  

Stan