Successful Ministry to the Retarded[ETowns] - Elmer Towns

loses consciousness, usually losing muscle control and falling. This fall rarelyharms him unless he is unusually heavy or tall, or falls against heavy or sharpobjects. He slumps in a relaxed attitude, remains unconscious from fifteen totwenty seconds, and then slowly awakens to rejoin class activity.These minor motor seizures will probably be routine occurrences in any classfor trainables, and the well-adjusted teacher learns to treat them casually. Heneeds a basic understanding of the functioning of each child so he can properlycare for him. His ability to be calm and proceed with class activity when one childhas a seizure will lend needed emotional support to the rest of the students as theysee the epileptic accepted in the midst of his seizures. 14SUMMARYMental retardation is the resulting condition when brain tissue does not developproperly in the prenatal stages or is destroyed during or after birth. Geneticimbalance, occurring at conception, accounts for one-third of all retardates. Thesechildren are known as Mongoloids, or are said to have Downs Syndrome. They fitinto both the educable and trainable levels. Another third of all mentallyhandicapped persons have suffered organic or actual physical damage to the brain.This may happen due to lack of oxygen during delivery, or after birth throughpoisoning, accidental blows to the head, or through chemical imbalance at any stagein life.Mentally handicapped individuals are placed into two intellectual andeducational categories: The educable will attend special public school classes wherehe will learn basic fundamental skills and eventually learn enough to support himselfby doing work requiring limited intellectual functioning. The trainable retarded,however, will probably learn those things pertaining to self-care, social habits, andhis adjustment to his immediate surroundings. The IQ of a trainable retardate maybe as high as 55. All retardates can and need to learn the personal love of God forthem.Retardation often involves such physical complications as slow and incompletemotor-ability development, handicapped sight and hearing, and varying degrees ofcerebral palsy, as well as a mild form of epilepsy.Since surgeons cannot yet replace brain tissue, retardation affects the entire lifeof an individual. The retardate's parents fear that they are the carriers of the malady,that their forefathers have home it to them, and that they are passing it on to futuregenerations. These fears have no basis in fact, for no one can accurately predictwhen conception between healthy people will result in retardation.