Margaret Cobb Rogers

“ On this basis, if correlation of youth with gain in I.Q. should give a larger positive value for r, we might be justified in saying that the younger boys, who have been handicapped for a lesser period, show greater mental recuperation than their [Pg 46] older companions. Such a correlation was attempted in the test group, correlating age at the first test with gain in I.Q. The same methods and formulae were used as in the weight and intelligence comparison, the greatest gain in I.Q. being given first position, and the lowest age. ”

“ The results show the following influence of dental treatment upon the working efficiency of the pupils.
1. The indices of improvement are about the same for boys and girls.
2. Improvement was about the same for older and younger pupils.
3. There were great individual differences in initial proficiency and in improvement.
4. Improvement in one test does not presuppose improvement in another.
5. There is a decided gain in every test, "and not only are the gains decidedly more frequent than the losses but the largest gains are invariably emphatically larger than the largest losses." ”

“ This question presents itself:—is there any relationship between improvement in physical well-being as revealed in weight, and improvement in intelligence? If, as has been supposed, adenoids and diseased tonsils cause mental retardation indirectly through physical deprivation, it would seem as though greater improvement in intelligence after operation should accompany greater improvement in weight, and smaller intelligence gain should accompany slighter gain in weight. ”

“ Often a surprising development of both mental and physical power follows the removal of adenoids. In one case reported by Professor Swift, a girl of fourteen grew three inches within six months after an operation for adenoids, and at the same time showed an improvement in her school work that contrasted strikingly with the dullness that preceded it. Another, three years younger, grew six inches in about five months, and from being a sad idler was transformed into an unexpectedly attractive and bright pupil. ”

“ This interest has centered in part upon those two afflictions of childhood—adenoids and diseased tonsils,—or even tonsils that are merely enlarged. There is no doubt of the physical handicap borne by a child who is possessed of them. As a seat of inflammation, a source of infection, a hindrance to proper breathing,—in a multitude of ways they have seemed to deserve the verdict,—"Have them out." Many physicians, to be sure, have cautioned against the wholesale removal of tonsils, saying that tonsils which are large in early childhood very commonly are absorbed at an early age. ”

“ Accordingly, the psychologist of today insists that every adenoid-afflicted child should be given prompt medical attention, with a view to correcting the vicious mouth-breathing habit, and thus aiding the child to gain a fair start in the development of mental and physical health. ”

“ A Study of Improvement After Treatment
The method employed here is based on the hypothesis that if a physical defect is the cause of retardation in mental or physical development, removal of the cause will tend to lessen [Pg 25] the retardation. In other words, if a child's working efficiency is lowered by the effects of adenoids and bad tonsils, their removal should, unless such lowering be permanent, be followed after a reasonable time by an improvement. ”

“ The coefficient of correlation by the method of rank differences is equal to ·03. The small number of cases renders the unreliability of correlation very great, but we can at least say that there is no consistent relationship between improvement and time interval, within the narrow limits here set. We are probably justified in taking twelve months as the interval, since such was the case in eight out of the fifteen test cases, while the greatest variation above this made was four months, and below it, one month. ”

“ This is made up of those cases where the defect is of such intensity as to produce retardation in otherwise ordinary children, and of other cases of less intensity, but sufficient to weigh down the balance against those near the level of what we may call for convenience the lower limit of normal intelligence." How he determines, without removing a defect, what the child's intelligence would be without it he does not explain. ”

“ To the gratification and astonishment of the parents and teachers, the children hitherto sluggish and dull of comprehension, now make rapid progress, and their comrades soon cease to make a laughing stock of them. ”

“ But improvement in efficiency, following the removal of adenoids and tonsils proves nothing unless we shall compare it with the change in efficiency of a control group, whose members have not been operated on, and who thus still suffer from the effects of the growths. ”

“ Five series of psychological tests were given at stated intervals during the course of the experiment. They included tests of immediate recall, spontaneous and controlled association (opposites) , adding, and attention-perception (cancellation) . There were six sets of each test, numbered from one to six, of equal difficulty, and given under uniform conditions. Tests 1 and 2 were given before the treatment began, and the average was taken as the "initial efficiency." The last four, or the last two, were averaged to represent the pupils' "terminal efficiency." ”

“ The tendency here noted to improve in general physical tone may, perhaps, serve as a sign of the factor upon which such improvement depends. Improved health means better attention, better emotional response, greater resistance to fatigue, and probably increased efficiency. ”

“ The aim of this study is, rather, to determine experimentally whether or not there exists any causal relation between defect in this respect and lowering of intelligence level. One hears statements made both pro and con by physicians and laymen but there has been little experimental proof. It would seem to be rather useful for a physician to know in advance with how much probability of correctness he is speaking, when he advises a mother that the removal of adenoids and tonsils from the throat of her backward child will make him "bright." ”

“ The point of greatest interest in the present study is, as has been said, improvement in intelligence. Does operation for adenoids and tonsils result in improvement in intelligence, as measured by I.Q.? If such improvement does not manifest itself after six months, can it be found after a second period of the same length? The latter question is answered by observation of Table XXI and attention to the following facts, gathered from the 21 pairs of cases who were given intelligence tests after the twelve months' interval. ”

“ The records of the physical examinations showed that 80 per cent of the children who were normal for their grade had physical defects while only about 75 per cent of the retarded children were physically defective. ”

“ The author says that in 36 per cent of the cases, the cause for backwardness was found to be "inherent dullness." (The basis for judgment of inherent dullness is not given.) Adenoids and tonsillar tissue were found in 18·75 per cent of the cases, and were "more prevalent than among the children of the area as a whole."
The degree of retardation, based upon the number of school standards below normal, was ascertained for pupils who suffered from various defects. The relative retardation was expressed by the fraction n/ (A-5) where n = number of years retarded, and A = age. ”

“ Comparing the improvements for the two groups, we find that in the case of the weights, the smallest gain (a loss of 1·2 lbs.) occurs in the control group, while the largest gain (10·7 lbs.) is in the test group. ”

“ The three nutrition pairs show the following records of growth,—in number 7, the test case shows a growth of ·6 in. more than his control. Number 10 is the pair in which the growth is equal. In number 11 the test case again exceeds in growth by ·6 of an inch.
More reliable than height and weight considered separately, as an index of physical welfare, is weight in relation to height and age. Table V shows the improvement in this relationship for the two groups. ”

“ In one pair, (no. 11) the test case lost ·3 of a pound, while the control gained ·9. The test cases of pairs 7 and 10 gained ·8 lb. and 2·1 lbs. respectively, over and above their controls. However, these three cases alone are of little significance.
A study of increase in height suffers even more than one of weight gains from the short interval which elapsed between measurements. Normally, there is very little growth in six months. There are only nineteen pairs of cases in this portion of the study, a fact which renders it of even less value. ”

“ Since we were unable to secure a large test group from Public School 64, the experiment was continued at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital where opportunity was given for testing the children after they had been admitted for operation. In order to be sure that in each case the defect was sufficiently pronounced to render decisive the results of the experiment, each child's card was examined. Only those [Pg 26] children were included who were undergoing operation for both adenoids and tonsils. ”

“ Viele Kinder erscheinen schwachbegabt, ohne os zu sein, da bei denselben entweder nach behebung von Ohrenkrankheiten, nach Herstellung der freien atmung oder Gebrauch einer entsprechenden Brille die scheinbare Geistesschwache schwindet. ”

“ On the basis of these results, the author concludes:
"Children exhibiting some alternatives in the normal histology of tonsils and adenoids, give marked evidences of mental impairment." This seems to be a rather sweeping statement in consideration of the number of intellectually superior children who suffer from adenoids and diseased tonsils.
Another investigation was made by Dr. Cornell in the Philadelphia [Pg 18] schools, [12] where seventy more or less retarded pupils in grades one to four were operated on for adenoids. According to the teachers' reports—
30 per cent improved considerably. ”

“ This growth of critical spirit has shown itself in statistical investigations, and in studies of pedagogical and mental improvement after operation.
The statistical studies of physical defects in the schools reveal almost universally a positive relationship between [Pg 10] school retardation and possession of adenoids and diseased tonsils. One of these was conducted by Ayres for the Backward Children Investigation of the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City. ”

“ This is a result of the imperfect aeration of the blood which supplies the brain, on account of obstruction to respiration. In the Feeble-minded, conditions are more or less similar."
One hundred and twelve cases in the Sonoma State Home, Eldridge, California, were operated on. ”