before 1920 what happen to children with disabilities?

Answer 1

In Western Europe and North America, in well-to-do families and in the cities, they were mostly institutionalized. In the country, they mostly stayed with their families, and were looked after by the whole village. Remnants of this can be found for example in the community care for people with mental disabilities in the Flemish-Belgian town of Geel, were young patients board with farming families and help out on the farm.

"One of the best examples of how communities can become carers of the mentally ill is to be found in the Belgian town of Geel, the site of what is undoubtedly the oldest community mental health programme in the western world. Since the 13th century, and originating perhaps as early as the 8th century, severely mentally ill people have been welcomed by the Church of St Dympha or by foster families in the town, with whom they have lived, often for several decades. Today, such families in Geel care for some 550 patients, about half of whom have jobs in sheltered workshops."

" The world health report 2001 - Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope : Involvement of the local community", World Health Organization : http://www.who.int/whr/2001/chapter3/en/index1.html

Answer 2

Like today, it depended a lot on how much money their parents had.
If you were rich like the Roosevelts, you hired private nurses or aides (both Teddy and Franky had some childhood problems.) Poor people might just end up taking care of the person at home, with little if any exposure to even medical care, let alone specialists. Some institutions were available, but the care there would vary a great deal too. It ranged from it being a private spa, to a workhouse, all the way to racks of cribs in the dark.
Medicine at the time was less advanced, so all the children that can now be cured or at least helped through treatments and surgeries would have been much worse off, if they had even lived.

Answer 3

They were not necessarily institutionalised as other answers have said. I can say this from my own family knowledge as my grandfather - born late 19th century - was disabled as a child (in East End of London) with rickets. This left both his legs bowed and he could only walk with the use of two sticks, or he was pushed about in a wheel chair. Despite this condition, he married and had four children. He set up and ran his own successful business as a french polisher, also in the East End, but made enough money to buy and have built his own home in an Essex suburb.

Answer 4

They were usually sent to an asylum or "died " in thier early years, typical for "sickly" children.

It depended on your financial status, crippled and deformed children provided a good source of revenue for low income familes as they could be sent out to beg and usually earned more . the more retarded or deformed the better.

In India today in large poor families children are still purpossly maimed , usually very seriously, in order to make better beggars.

In europe if you could have an oubliette, a prison where you hid your deformed and maimed from the public so your family would not be shamed.

You would commit the child to this prison in your own house until the food was not taken and then you would brick it up.

Sometimes families would brick it up anyway,......so thay didnt have to hear the cries.

Before the 1920s deformed and crippled children reminded families that they carried a weakness and sin and this was personified in this individual.

These poor kids suffered so much from those that should have struggled to save them!

Answer 5

Alot were institutionalized. Also, the life expectancy was nothing like it is today due to advances in medicine.

Answer 6

they put them in children homes, insane asylums