At some point during the later Renaissance the idea took hold that wearing spectacles could be a sign of intelligence, or of intellectual sophistication. It had not always been so.
John Langdon Down's grandson, who had Down's syndrome, features in family photographs as a fully-integrated family member.
Optometrists at Cardiff care for the eyes of Welsh children with Down's syndrome. (Leaflet from 2010)
Earlier, the act of wearing spectacles on your nose had brought with it connotations that were more mystical, and all sorts of critical messages could be behind the decision to depict a person with glasses in a work of art. Amongst these were the notion that the wearer was morally suspect, improper of conduct or even a fool. It is no coincidence that the famous 16th century bespectacled helmet in the collection of the Royal Armouries has been associated with Henry VIII's court jester. The purpose of the jester was to invert the norm.
There have been other more earnest campaigners who have sought to challenge the norm…and they were not acting in jest.
Last weekend I attended the opening of London's newest medical museum. This winter The Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability is open on Saturday mornings and Monday afternoons at Normansfield, the former home of Dr John Langdon Down in Teddington (the site of an NHS hospital until 1997). The museum is owned and managed by a charity - the Down's Syndrome Assocation - for it was after John Langdon Down (1828-1896) that the condition would come to be named. Before that, the technical medical term was indeed 'idiot' or 'Mongolian Idiot'. Down's syndrome only became the universally accepted term in 1965, a prime mover for the change being Norman Langdon-Down, grandson of the founder, who kept the superintendency of the hospital in the family right up to 1970. At Normansfield as well as at the nearby Earlswood Asylum for Idiots, John Langdon Down pioneered new treatment for people with learning disability, championing the notion of the 'Idiot-Savant', someone who could be taught a craft and become competent in an activity that might develop into more than just occupational therapy. The emphasis was on what the person could achieve, not what their disability prevented them from doing.
The exhibits at the museum include the remarkable drawings of James Henry Pullen (1835-1916) an ‘Idiot-Savant’ whose visual memory allowed him to sketch his earliest childhood recollections at a remove of many years. It also has his remarkable scale ship model of the Great Eastern which was made in 1872 using tools of Pullen’s own design. Although unable to speak properly, Pullen could count all the components that went into his cast model. The purpose behind this new museum is not only to preserve the material heritage of a pioneering, influential and long-lasting institution but also to educate and inform on matters of learning disability. Therefore it may have a pertinent message for many medical professionals.
Optometrists, for example, may deal with patients with Down's syndrome. The team at Cardiff University has made a specialism of treating such patients. Among their findings have been that children with Down's syndrome are likely to be considerably more hypermetropic than those without the condition. Perhaps less expected is the conclusion that children with Down's syndrome can wear bifocals very successfully. Some then learn in two to three years to accommodate over the top of them and the bifocals can eventually be taken away. Rather than giving up on certain classes of patients, the dedicated professional discovers just how effective treatments can be…exactly in the tradition of John Langdon Down.
Meanwhile optometrists who encounter patients with dyslexia should be aware that that condition is classed differently, as a 'learning difficulty', since the intellect is not affected. Langdon Down was, again, a pioneer in drawing this important distinction. Mental and intellectual health problems may affect all manner of people at different stages of their lives and they are increasingly likely to live in the community with very few people now institutionalised. The team at the Langdon Down Museum hope to work with other medical museums in the future in pursuit of their mission and we will certainly be holding discussions with them.
For further information contact...
Ian Jones-Healey
Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability
Down’s Syndrome Association
The Langdon Down Centre
Normansfield
2A Langdon Park
Teddington
Middlesex
TW11 9PS
Telephone: 020 8614 5100 Website
Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability is now a full member of the London Museums of Health and Medicine and will provide the venue for that group's next meeting in June 2012.
The museum is also hosting a conference on Saturday 5 May 2012, exploring the history of Normansfield and its collections through historical research, archiving and personal experience. Further details here.
The museum at the College of Optometrists would be particularly interested to acquire material related to the eyecare of people with learning disability, with a view to a possible loan exhibition to be hosted at Normansfield in a subsequent year. This material might comprise vision aids used by people with learning disability, equipment used by medical professionals in attending to the needs of these people, or it might be be archival in nature. Please contact the curator if you can help.
Idiot Glasses
Author: Neil Handley Posted: 31 January 2012
At some point during the later Renaissance the idea took hold that wearing spectacles could be a sign of intelligence, or of intellectual sophistication. It had not always been so.
John Langdon Down's grandson, who had Down's syndrome, features in family photographs as a fully-integrated family member.
There have been other more earnest campaigners who have sought to challenge the norm…and they were not acting in jest.
Last weekend I attended the opening of London's newest medical museum. This winter The Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability is open on Saturday mornings and Monday afternoons at Normansfield, the former home of Dr John Langdon Down in Teddington (the site of an NHS hospital until 1997). The museum is owned and managed by a charity - the Down's Syndrome Assocation - for it was after John Langdon Down (1828-1896) that the condition would come to be named. Before that, the technical medical term was indeed 'idiot' or 'Mongolian Idiot'. Down's syndrome only became the universally accepted term in 1965, a prime mover for the change being Norman Langdon-Down, grandson of the founder, who kept the superintendency of the hospital in the family right up to 1970. At Normansfield as well as at the nearby Earlswood Asylum for Idiots, John Langdon Down pioneered new treatment for people with learning disability, championing the notion of the 'Idiot-Savant', someone who could be taught a craft and become competent in an activity that might develop into more than just occupational therapy. The emphasis was on what the person could achieve, not what their disability prevented them from doing.
The exhibits at the museum include the remarkable drawings of James Henry Pullen (1835-1916) an ‘Idiot-Savant’ whose visual memory allowed him to sketch his earliest childhood recollections at a remove of many years. It also has his remarkable scale ship model of the Great Eastern which was made in 1872 using tools of Pullen’s own design. Although unable to speak properly, Pullen could count all the components that went into his cast model. The purpose behind this new museum is not only to preserve the material heritage of a pioneering, influential and long-lasting institution but also to educate and inform on matters of learning disability. Therefore it may have a pertinent message for many medical professionals.
Optometrists, for example, may deal with patients with Down's syndrome. The team at Cardiff University has made a specialism of treating such patients. Among their findings have been that children with Down's syndrome are likely to be considerably more hypermetropic than those without the condition. Perhaps less expected is the conclusion that children with Down's syndrome can wear bifocals very successfully. Some then learn in two to three years to accommodate over the top of them and the bifocals can eventually be taken away. Rather than giving up on certain classes of patients, the dedicated professional discovers just how effective treatments can be…exactly in the tradition of John Langdon Down.
Meanwhile optometrists who encounter patients with dyslexia should be aware that that condition is classed differently, as a 'learning difficulty', since the intellect is not affected. Langdon Down was, again, a pioneer in drawing this important distinction. Mental and intellectual health problems may affect all manner of people at different stages of their lives and they are increasingly likely to live in the community with very few people now institutionalised. The team at the Langdon Down Museum hope to work with other medical museums in the future in pursuit of their mission and we will certainly be holding discussions with them.
For further information contact...
Ian Jones-Healey
Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability
Down’s Syndrome Association
The Langdon Down Centre
Normansfield
2A Langdon Park
Teddington
Middlesex
TW11 9PS
Telephone: 020 8614 5100
Website
Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability is now a full member of the London Museums of Health and Medicine and will provide the venue for that group's next meeting in June 2012.
The museum is also hosting a conference on Saturday 5 May 2012, exploring the history of Normansfield and its collections through historical research, archiving and personal experience. Further details here.
The museum at the College of Optometrists would be particularly interested to acquire material related to the eyecare of people with learning disability, with a view to a possible loan exhibition to be hosted at Normansfield in a subsequent year. This material might comprise vision aids used by people with learning disability, equipment used by medical professionals in attending to the needs of these people, or it might be be archival in nature. Please contact the curator if you can help.