The earliest recorded use of the term in the English language dates from 1534, when it appears in one of the first English translations of the
New Testament, the
Tyndale Bible. A biblical commandment to "Comforte the feble mynded" is included in 1 Thessalonians. A London
Times editorial of November 1834 describes the long-serving former
Prime Minister Lord Liverpool as a "feeble-minded pedant of office". In the United States,
The Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Persons (AMO) was established in 1876 as a professional organization for institution superintendents. The rise in schools for students with intellectual disabilities since the 1900s reflects the growing commitment from cities, states, and private organizations to support these children, rather than an increase in the occurrence of mental disabilities. For "feebleminded" children, which broadly connoted
mental deficiency of various forms, special day-schools were established in the 1900s to promote efficient schooling. These schools focused on "educable"
learning-disabled children, which classified children on two axes: a child's
abnormality (need for special education) and a child's ineducability. For most families, institutions were places of last, not first, resort. Some small, private establishments opened during the late 1800s, and early 1900s, such as the
Pennsylvania Training School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Children, generally known as "
Elwyn."
Elwyn Institution provided a mix of short-term education and long-term care to residents with diversely ranging mental and physical disabilities. Children in these institutions expanded their vocabulary, and learned their letters and numbers. If they were capable, they later progressed to study basic reading and writing skills.
Institutional daily life At institutions, there were a variety of engaging activities to energize and stimulate the mind while diverting the "melancholic. For example, the Private Institution for the Education of Feeble-Minded youth in Barre, Massachusetts built cottages for each of the children's needs. These cottages were similar to spaces in other institutions, with large sitting and living rooms, "modern conveniences" (sanitation), a shop room with tool benches, recreation classes, and indoor games. When they were not learning basic reading and writing, it was common for residents to participate in unpaid
domestic labor. At the Minnesota School for the Feeble Minded in Faribault, 18-year old Edna Collins became the ninety-eighth person legally sterilized in 1927. However, sterilizations were not a safe and effective substitute for permanent segregation and control.
Partial list of US institutions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries •
Partlow State School for Mental Defectives founded in 1919 located in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama • Florida Farm Colony for Epileptic and Feeble-Minded founded in 1921 located in
Gainesville, Florida ==Definition==