"Fri IE belief that permanent
care in an institution was the only course for handicapped children is unfounded and incorrect," said the Irish Provincial of the Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God, speaking at a threeday Congress on Mental Handicap held in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, this week.
It was estimated, he said, that only a third of all mentally handicapped required residential care and treatment. The general statement that the mentally handicapped were incapable of productive work was untrue. Some could be self-supporting, a large number could be partially self-supporting, and another group could earn a little or be useful at home.
The Congress was attended by 250 people, including visitors from England and the U.S. Problems discussed included the need for special schools and occupational training, and proper diagnosis of handicaps. Dr. Speijer, of Leiden. told of the Dutch experiment with "sheltered workshops" for the handicapped.