Neugarten, Dinner-Dance April 12;
Important Proposals Made at Wayne County Fund to Aid Day Nursery Facilities
School by Dr. Buoniconto; Jewish Groups
Aid Program of Retarded Children's Drive

Plans to Solve Retarded Children's Problems Gain Momentum

Out of the scores of problems
that affect mankind, the one
that has forged to the front to
command the attention of all
nations and all creeds, is that
of the mentally retarded chil-
dren.
U.S. Senator Alexander Wil-
ey, of Wisconsin, in a lengthy
Senate statement in 1954, called
attention to the nearly 5,000,000
mentally retarded Americans
who are in need of help, espe-
cially the youngsters.
But on March 1, 195'7, Sena-
tor George A. Smathers, of
Florida, in an address in the
United States Senate, in which
he urged the adoption of a,
resolution authorizing the
President to designate the
week of April 28 to May 4 as
National Mental Health Week,
referred to "the tragic plight
of America's 10 million men-
tally ill." The number may not
have grown by that much, but
the interest in the plight of
the mentally retarded cer-
tainly • is increasing by leaps
and bounds.
Thus, the Ford Foundation's
grants of $27,100,000 made in
1956 included $14,000,000 for
mental health research and
other behaviorial science activi-
ties.
Also: Dr. John J. Lee, chair-
man of Wayne State Univer-
sity's department of special edu-
cation and rehabilitation, an-
nounced a two-year research

DR. PASQUALE BUONICONTO

study of mentally retarded chil-
dren in Wayne County through
a federal grant to the univer-
sity recently approved by the
U.S. Office of Education.
These and other programs
are supplementary to the reg-
ular activities pursued by nu-
merous functioning agencies
and institutions, a leader
among them being the Wayne
County Training Schoo
whose medical superintendent
is Dr. Pasquale Buoniconto.
The Jewish community is
showing an increasing interest
in efforts in behalf of the men-
tally retarded.
Harold Silver, director of the
Jewish Social Service Bureau,
has outlined his bureau's work
for the mentally retarded along
the following lines:
1. Help the family to make,
clarify, or confirm the
diagnosis on the child; the
degree of retardation;
. where there is emotional
involvement, etc.
Z. On the basis of the diag-
nosis and study, to help the
family plan the proper dis-
position, which • might be
placement in a special grade
at school, perhaps casework
service from us, or institu-
tionalization.
3. In some instances we have
financed a plan of special
training at the Coleman
School for a limited period
of time and as part of a long
range plan. In some situa-
tions this special training
will fit the child for accept-
ance into the regular public
school. In others, a more ac-
curate diagnosis can be
reached that way.
The Michigan Association for

Retarded Children has under-
taken a large program of activi-
ties in this area. Mrs. Seldon
Barris, outlining this organiza-
tion's history and program,
states:
"A small group of 20 parents
whose. retarded children lived
in the Lapeer State Home and
Training School, organized the
Lapeer Parents Association in
January, 1949, to make a.. better
way of life foi: their mentally
handicapped children. They pro-
vided recreational, educational
and training facilities to the
school, in addition to those pro-
vided by the state. They ar-
ranged parties fo'r entire cot-
tages, provided gifts for birth-
days and holidays and furnished
radios, record players and tele-
vision sets for the children..
"The idea for having an or-
ganized parent group spread to
other institutions and to par-
ents whose children were at
home. It snowballed so fast
that today the Michigan Associ-
ation for Retarded Children has
a membership of 3,000, both par-
ents and friends from all over
Michigan.
"The Michigan Association for
Retarded Children, organized
June 18, 1951, represents all
parents and community organi-
zations in the State that are con-
cerned with the training and
care of the mentally retarded,
(whether these organizations
are working with institutions, or
on a community level). The or-
ganization seeks to meet the
need of unifying the efforts of
all local groups, first to encour-
age one another and second, to
show more strength in the com-
munity.
"Through the MARC commit-
tee functions, parents who once
thought they were alone with
their problem, found each other
and organized into groups, first
to encourage one another, and
then to aid their retarded chil
dren. Classes, schools and play
centers were started where chil-
dren could have companionship
and socialized training. For
these were the children that
were considered uneducable
and excluded from the public
school system. In many remote
places in Michigan, one can find
such school classes for, retarded
children conducted and operated
by parents. With infbrmation
compiled and gathered by the
state organization committees,
these experimental classes are
making progress. The Library
Committee and the Adult Edu-
cation Committee attempts to
keep parents up to date in new
methods of training.
"Legislative action for more
bed space for retarded children
on the waiting • list was gained
this year through the efforts of
the MARC and the cooperation
of many civic minded groups.
Fort Custer was revamped as
a temporary home for retarded
children—also part of Farming-

ton Childrens Hospital. Addi-
tional bed space has been con-
structed at Coldwater and Mt.
Pleasant Institutions. A new
institution for retarded children
will be built in Northville, and
another is being considered on
the west side of the State. Even
though the 1,200 children on the
waiting list have been given
bed space, the waiting list has
become long again with new
cornmittments.
"Dr. Fred Palmer, superin-
tendent of Mt. Pleasant Home,
reported a year ago, that if we
took an honest look at the state
of Michigan, we'd find 5,000
more retarded individuals who
would be in Michigan's institu-
tions, if there were space.
"A recent donation of 80 acres
of land (12 miles NE of Lapeer)
for a camp site for retarded
children in Michigan has been
given by Ben and Esther Lem-
berg. When the camp will be
developed it will serve as a va
cation facility for retarded chil-
dren from home or Institutions."
Among the Jewish groups list-
ed by Mrs. Barris as participat-
ing in the work of the Michigan
Association for Retarded Chil-
dren are the following:
Pythian Sisters No. 152,
Knights of Pythius No. 555,
Fidelity Club, Bnai Brith
Youth Organization, Aescali-
pions Women's Auxiliary,
House of Shelter Auxiliary,
Youth Education Le a g u e,
Horodoker, Shuruth League,
Maimonides Medical Society
Women's Auxiliary, Infants
Service, Neugarten Medical
Aid, N. W. Child's Rescue
Women, Sa'ad, Junior Prim-
rose Benevolent Society, Kadi-
man Girls, Julius Rosenwald
Veterans Auxiliary, Pioneer
Women — Aviva Chapter, Pi-
oneer Women — Brandeis
Chapter and Fannie Gordon
Family Club.
Of major interest are the
plans now being promulgated at
the Wayne County Training
School by its able superintend-
ent, Dr. Buoniconto.
A year ago, Dr. Buoniconto
proposed to his administrative
board the establishment of a
Day School program at the
Wayne County Training School.
It was enthusiastically endorsed
by his board. In a communica-
tion to the Wayne County Board
of Supervisors, outlining his
plan, Dr. Buoniconto said:
"Because of our excellent
facilities and trained staff, it
was believed that we could
render a great service, not
only to the County, but also
to many of its residents who
are being sorely pressed to
find adequate placement for
their youngsters needing such
a program."
Dr. Buoniconto said that,
specifically, his proposal was
"to revamp the lower level
of the 'Teacherage' and utilize
this area for the Day School.

Planning the annual fund-raising dinner-dance of Neu-
garten Medical Aid are, left to right, seated: Mesdames EDWIN
GLANZ, ways and means chairman; DAVID SAKS, president;
and ROBERT ROSEN, journal chairman; standing, Mesdames
HAROLD N. WEINERT, publicity; and LEON LABOWITCH,
tickets. Proceeds from the event, to be held April 2, at North-
wood Inn, will be used, to expand Neugarten-supported Tau
Beta Community House day nursery operated by the Detroit
Association for Mentally Retarded Children. For tickets, call
Mrs. Labowitch, PA. 1-2740, or co-chairmen, Mrs. Irving
Pomerantz, TE 4-0890, or Mrs. Joseph Busker, UN 3-7344.

Tentatively, we had planned
on enrolling children between
the ages of 4 and 8 who are
residents of Wayne County;
who are mentally retarded;
and who in the foreseeable
future have no opportunity in
their own community of ever
having such a program avail-
able to them. Conceivably, the
age of retardation may be
from those who are trainable,
to those who are educable, and
and our own experience would
help us in determining which
ones we could help. Our pro-
gram would be geared to give
training: self-care habit train-
ing and opportunities for so-
cializing."
Dr. kluoniconto continued to
analyze his program:
"This proposed Day School
would be similar to attending
the average public school. As
may readily be discerned, the
age of enrollment is lower than
the accepted age for public
schools, thus enabling us to ap-
proach the problem of training
and educating the retarded at
a preventative stage before any
patterns of behavior, adjustment
and socialization have been es-
tablished."
Modification of the original
plans for the Wayne County
Training would be necessary to
make this program possible, Dr.
Buoniconto pointed out. Of
course, additional funds would
be needed, and it now urgently
hoped that his proposal will be
adopted and its implementation
made possible with the greatest
of speed.
The proposed Day School,
as envisioned by Dr. Buoni-
conto, will be an additional
program if permitted by leg-
islative enactment of the nec-
essary statutes. "This," Dr.
Buoniconto states, "would in
no way relate to our present
program whereby those ad-
mitted are sent under com-
mitment procedures and be-

New Hebrew University Campus Progresses

This photo mirrors the progress achieved
on the new - Jerusalem site where the Hebrew
University is carving out a campus from the
rocks of Givat Ram. There are provisions for
classrooms and laboratories for an enrollment

of 10400 students. Since 1940 the university,
which has been cut off from its original home
on Mt. Scopus; has conducted its academic
work in buildings scattered throughout Jeru-
salem.

come - residents of our school."
To the credit of Dr. Buoni-
conto it must be said that he
approaches the problem from
a humanitation standpoint. In
his message to the Wayne Coun-
ty Board of Supervisors, he
wrote:
"May I state unequivocally
that the mentally retarded
child is, first of all, a child.,
and thus entitled to the same
consideration as every other
child. Secondly, he is a handi-
capped child, and as such is
entitled, with all handicapped
children, to every aid we can
give him to function, within
his handicap, as a child: that
is, whatever special facilities
the law can set up to develop
him to the maximum capac-
ity."'
According to Dr. Buoniconto,
the Board of Supervisors of
Wayne County has approved the
establishment of a Special Treat-
ment Center for 25 boys at the
Wayne County Training SchooL
"These," Dr. Buoniconto ex-
plains, "are, in addition to being
mentally retarded, severely dis-
turbed children with many ag-
gressive drives who cannot be
handled in any presently exist-
ing programs and who will re-
ceive specialized treatmen tf
training and education to facil-
itate an early rehabilitation and
return to the community."
Meanwhile, the need for ac-
tion grows, and the problem is
being viewed with sympathy
and deep-rooted interest every-
where.
Authorities, like Dr. Buoni-
conto, throughout* the land, see
greater hope for the mentally
retarded in the future—through
proper planning and research.
Grants for studies of mental
retardation are increasing and
the nation as well as individual
states are devoting serious at-
tention to the problem.
The Federal grant made to
Wayne State University, the
center of newly-planned re-
search activity, is the Wayne
County Training School, and the
study consists of graduates of
not only the Training School but
also the special education classes
of the City of Detroit.
It is an international prob-
lem. Recently, a study re-
ported on the subject from
Tel Aviv, Israel, quoted Dr.
Armand Sunier, World Health
Organization consultant, as
stating that Israel's need was
not so much for more beds in
hospitals and institutions for
the mentally ills. He empha-
sized instead the need for
preventive work along sociol-
ogical and ethnological lines.
The legislative and institu-
tional activities in the sphere
of finding a solution for the
problems of the mentally re-
tarded and the mentally ill are
now so extensive that they point
to better result—thanks espe-
cially to the interest in the issue
by so many people.

