Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/512

* IDEOGRAPHY. 446 IDIOCY. ID'EOO'IIAPHY (fnini C,k. lila. idea, idea + -IfMipla, ijiaiihiu, a writing, from ypiiptir, gra- phiin, lo wrilf). Tile art of represuiiliiig ideas liy j,'ra|(liic signs, us iimy be seen iu llie hiero- g"lv|>liic'!* (q.v.) fuuud on the niunumeulal relics of j;.i;y|«l. IDES. See under Kalends. IDIOCY (from Gk. ISiwrtla, idiOtcia, uncouth- lU'ss, from MiiirTTj.;, idiOlrt. privali- rilizcn, from ISior, idios; connected iiltinialely willi Lat. huuh, .Ski. si-u, own). A condition of arrest of de- velopment of the brain, and. in eonM-(|Uence, of the intelleftnal faculties, of the infant or child. If the uon-dcvclopment is such that the child is capable of fc<'ding himself and of appreciating enough of his surroundings to avoi<l injury, the condition is usually teniicd imhecUitij. if there is no such cvidcnit' of mental capacity, idiocy is the tenn usually employed. I'ccbU-mindcdnesa occupies an intermediate position l)etween nor- mality and imbecility. The defect or disease of the brain which interferes with normal evolution may Ik- congenital or acipiired : the cerebral func- tions may be all more or less involved. Ribot and alsoSoUier maintain that the slow develop- ment of the cerebral faculties is due to want of attention; that spontaneous attention is cjiused by allective states brought into aetiim by sensa- tions, and that those yoimg children are the most nttentivi' whose nervous systcm.s are most easily stimulated. Hence the faculty of attention is closely relateil lo the activity of the sensations. The greater the power of attention, the more in- telligent does the individual become. In idiocy, owing to the diminution or loss of the power of attention, the perceptions aroused by sensations are more or less indefinite, and the resultant idea likewise illdelined. .Sensations lM>come more numerous as the organism develops, and the lack of ideas and recognitions becomes more notice- able. Frederick Peterson, whose translation of fSollier we quote, sounds a warning that there arc other faculties of mind, such as will and memory, which are absolutely necessary to all Rubsequi'nt nientjil activity, and adds that lack of the power of at lent ion. while common in idiocy, cannot Im? taken in any way as distinguishing this condition of mind from other forms of mental im- pairment. Frequently somatic and especially cra- nial and facial characteristics are noticeable upon the birth of the idiot. thoigh idiocy exists also when physical evidence is wanting. . idiot may not take the breast, may cry without motive and with different notes from normal children. Deaf- ness or blindness may be congenital. The senses of smell and of taste may be undeveloped. The mnvements of the eyes may l)e irregular. The idiot may l>e slow in resp<mding to the stinuilus of touch : he mrfy not laugh : thermic sensibility is diminished ; a constant rhythmic, automatic motion may be present; he may not learn to walk, and all volimtary movements may be acquired late in youth, and imperfectly. Organic sensa- tions are blunted, including hunger, thirst, desire for defecation or urination. Lack of the faculty of .ittention exists, owing to defective senses which convey feeble impressions to the brain, as well as to a lack of the affective state; the in- ternal form of attention (reflection of Ribot) is absent or deficient in the idiot. He is practically inc.ipable of preoccupation. His instincts are de- fective, whether of hunger or of selfpreseriation : while the instinct of irritation is very strong; and the sexual instinct is seldom nomuil, being exaggerated, impaired, absent, or perverted. Oc- casionally remarkable s|>ecial aptitudes are seen in idiots in the direction of nmsic, mathematics, meciiauical arts, drawing, painting, memory for fact.s or dates, playing certain games, and a low order of wit or drollery. It is said that the Court fools and jesters of ancient times were idiots of high grade or imbeciles, until others, seeing the emolument to be obtained, studied ami practiced the art. Riliot says that .Sikorski is authority for the statement that the activity and attention of normal children are mainly developed Ihrough play. Idiots for the greater part maniicst little tendency to play, clinging to the simplest games of infancy and [ircfcrring solitary pastimes. Others of higher grade prefer noisy, ilestructive sports, and traits of l)rulality. sellishncss. and (piarrelsomenoss are apparent. Civility and po- liteness are rarely luquired. Deslrucliveness, evi- denced in their play, may develop info a vicious satisfaction in inflicting injury, conmiission of arson, or of homicide, or of self mutilation. Sen- timents and sensation are rudimentary or absent: the absence of ideas of right ami wrong, the vary- ing respect for authority, the absence of religious feeling, and the absence of veracity being espe- cially noticeable. It has been .said that idiot children sonictimcs show facial characteristics at birth. They arc always ungracious, uncouth, or ugly in figure, face, attitudes, or movements. 'ery common among them are misshapen or tinsymmetrieal heads, dwarfishness. lack of proportion of the limbs, stooping and slovenly postures, deformities of the hands or feet, and awkwaril gait (Peter- son). The expression of the face varies from apathy to constant laughing. leering, or scowling; the mental charaitcristii's being evident also. There may t>e deformities of the iris, cornea, or the lids of the eyes, as well as malformation of the nose, ears, and chin. Microeephalus. hydro- cephalus, and cretinism are found in some iiliots. There arc speech defects. Sollier finds two kinds of muti.sm in idiots, a motor and a sensory aphasia (q.v.). In the fir.st the idiot cannot talk, though he understands; in the second he imderstands nothing which is said. Language is developed lafe in the idiofs who talk. As stated, when infants, their notes are not normal, but meaningless and monotonous cries take tiie place of the usual crowing of a liaby. Speech dis- turbances arc common, as regards both absenw of words to express ideas, or imperfections of gram- mar, and also excessive and infinite loquacity. Reading is impossible in idiots who suffer from defects of the visual centres or the visual ap- jparatus. The writing centre is the latt'st part of the linguistic cerebral equipment to be developed, together with its association tracts. They learn to reproduce letters, though never to write well, and they exhibit a tendency to write with the left hand, and also to write from riu'ht to left. They execute drawing only by copying, without perspective, or produce scrawls of fantastic na- ture. From preceding statements it has been gathered that the intelligence of the idiot varies from the normal in different degree*. He has fewer ideas than the imbecile. Imitation does not fur- nish ideas for him: it simply centres on mechan- ism, except in the idiots of higher grade, in whom