New Life for the Handicapped

The purpose of the home was to rehabilitate patients as far as possible, so that they could face the harsh realities of life outside hospital. Most of them not only suffered from some form of nervous disease but had other handicaps as well. There were those who were deaf, those who were partially blind, those who were partially paralyzed. For most of them, the hospital had been their refuge for some time and the idea of being rehabilitated was somewhat frightening. They doubted their own capabilities, and were nervous of the effort which would be required from them.

The home contains within it a research unit which is mainly concerned with overcoming the technical problems which arise from the patient's physical disabilities. Full rehabilitation involves a need for a patient to be as independent as possible physically. It is in the research center that all types of electronic equipment are pioneered, much of it exceedingly delicate and complex. One of the things I found astonishing as I watched what was going on in the workshop was the ease with which the patients became accustomed to the equipment. This, of course, has the twofold effect of making them physically independent and giving them the psychological satisfaction of having mastered a difficult problem. And this extra confidence is, of course, a further step towards rehabilitation.

While I was there, I was fortunate enough to be able to talk to a couple of patients who had been folly rehabilitated and who had come back for the weekend to visit their friends. One, a former physical education teacher who suffered from paralysis from the waist down, was now teaching general studies in a primary school. After his accident, he told me, he had had a complete nervous breakdown and had indeed tried to commit suicide several times. "But when I got here, I realized that there were still some things I could do—and that there were people worse off than me who were out in the world doing them," he said. "Yes, I expect I shall get depressions again. You can't completely cure that kind of thing. But they'll pull me out of it, at least I know that now," I asked him if he felt that everyone in the home could be rehabilitated.

"Well, of course, one can't really tell. There are some people in here with really terrible problems. But I should say that about 70% of them will be folly rehabilitated by this time next year."

And that is a fantastic claim that, from my observation of what is going on, may well be proved.