The "deaf, dumb, imbecile" part of the 1911 census

[brigidmac]

i wonder if the many idiots included were people with learning differences autism or dementia

it was obviously an acceptable term

[RJ_Paton]

i wonder if the many idiots included were people with learning differences autism or dementia

it was obviously an acceptable term

It was an official description of the time along with imbecile and moron

In 19th- and early 20th-century medicine and psychology, an "idiot" was a person with a very profound intellectual disability, being diagnosed with "idiocy".

In their charts it would be in order of disability
1. Moron IQ level 51 - 70
2. Imbecile IQ level 26 - 50
3. Idiot IQ level 0 - 25

[diddymiller]

i had an ancestor repeately refered to as Imbecile - we know it was Epilepsy.


Another my GGfather in the 1851 was down as cripple - which finally explained to me why he was left behind in Norfolk when the rest of his family went up to Tyneside - problem solved!!


Diddy