Hi Victor That was exactly my point and I agree with you entirely. I understand these terms were in official use in the first part of last century and the labelling of Joey Deacon was the result. It did not seem to occur to people that he might have none of these conditions. People must be looked at as individuals with abilities and needs and not responded to in a knee jerk way. These definitions are certainly not mine. When I worked in adult education the widespread policy was that if some one was mentally ill you provided drama and music, if they were mentally disabled then literacy, if they were old then crafts. I am with you entirely. Robin ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:44 AM Subject: Re: [ERY] Re: [YKS] A clue to finding missing rellies > On 2 Sep 2005 at 8:04, Robin Wainwright wrote: > > > Here are two definitions: > > > > Idiot > > A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three > > years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard > > against > > common dangers. > > > > Imbecile > > A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a mental age of > > from three to seven years and generally being capable of some degree of > > communication and performance of simple tasks under supervision. > > This is a difficult area as these two definitions could apply to those who are simply deaf > with speech difficulties. These deaf people cannot in any way be described by either of > the two definitions. Unfortunately when people meet deaf people they think they have > no intelligence whatsoever. There are deaf people around who have managed to get a > good education and even obtain a PhD but are still treated as of low intelligence. > > Victor > > > ==== ENG-EAST-YORKS Mailing List ==== > Try keep it on Topic not sure mail Administrator! > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx >