Itard, Jean Marc Gaspard
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[edit] Itard, Jean Marc Gaspard (1774-1838)
http://www.people-inc.org/museum/images/exhibits/Itard.jpg
Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard was born in Oraison in Provence, a province in southeastern France, in 1774.
Invented the Eustachian Catheter
Itard had his career begin in the French army and was trained to be a surgeon on the job while he worked on a thesis (which was never published) about pneumothorax. He later recieved training in surgery in 1800 and he was Cheif Physician at the National Institution for Deaf and Mutes in Paris, France. Most widely know for his work with the "Wild Boy of Aveyron" his scientific approach was met with great excitement and a sense of humanity.
"He was a pugnaciously handsome, with his culed hair, his prominent nose and jutting chin. Like a true Stendhalian hero, Itard was a provincial (he was born at Oraison in Basses-Alpes), the son of a carpenter, yearning to make good in the great metropolis. Here, in the boy, was a sure way to attain renown, to raise himself at one bound from the obscurity of the medical grind to a respected and secured frame." (2004, Newton)
Itard's research blended the philosophies of Rousseau with the scientific approaches of Phillipe Pinel and Etienne Bonnot De Condillac (1715-1780) to awaken Victor from his savage mind. Itard became widely known for his experiments at the National Institutions for Deaf and Mutes to encourage Victor to develop language skills, (thought to be the key to becoming a civilized human being) and to reach these goals with Victor.
1. To interest him in social life
2. To improve his awareness of environmental stimuli
3. To extend the range of his ideas (e.g. introduce him to games, culture, etc.)
4. To teach him to speak
5. To teach him to communicate by using symbol systems, such as pictures and written words
Itard recorded and published his experiments and findings in a book called, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of A Savage Man, published in 1801 in France.
Itard died in Paris in 1838.
[edit] Victor. The Wild Boy of Aveyron
First seen in 1797, the boy was seen in the woods near Lacaune, France. In 1798 the boy was trapped and held by a woman in the same area where he later escaped. In 1800, the boy sought shelter in a home where the boy was held, this time, until they could hold him in a hopital in Rhodez, Frace.
"Four and a half feet tall, the boy walked with an uneven, rocking gait, much as runners use to improve their speed; there was no sign that he had ever gone on all fours, the knees ordinarily uncalloused. Most often, he would just sit and rock himself, from side to side, or backwards and forwards, hi head held up and his eyes fixed ahead of him. His primary interests was in food. On being given a mirror, the boy could make nothing of it, looking once behind it, to try to find the child that he had seen within its surface." (2004, Newton)
After many examinations by doctors it was determined that the boy was not a "wild boy" but a boy who was just an "idiot."
His functions were that primarily of an animal. He was able to stay in an apartment in the Institute where he was cared for by Madame Guerin, who the boy, now called Victor by Itard, grew fond of as if she was a mother figure to him.
Victor never developed language and died at the age of fourty in 1828.
[edit] Itard's Work with Victor
At first, the people working with the boy thought he was deaf, since he didn't respond to any vocalizations by others. It was later understood that he was not deaf and could hear certain noises such as a walnut being cracked open. The boy still did not respond to any human voices.
Itard thought that if he could get Victor to speak, he would develop a path for further development because then Victor would be able to express himself. Without a system for developing communication, it was felt by Itard, that Victor would not be able to make progress toward civilization and would fall back into patterns of the "wild boy."
Itard studied the works of Condillac who belived that through needs the boy would want to express himself through vocalizations.
After many years of working with Victor, he began to respond specifically to the sound of the human voice. He associated his name and had related the word of potato with his favorite food...boiled potatoes.
"The young savage could make his wishes clear enough. If at the time for his walkhad come with Madame Guerin, he would simply lay her clothes out before her, ready for her to dress in, and even, if impatient enough, would start dressing her himself. Yet Itard also felt that this system of gestures was essentially limited. Only words - only a system of speech - could embark the individual human on the process of development that Condillac had described it, by affording him access to a medium capable of indefinite improvement." (2004, Newton)
Victor still showed little concern for other humans and treated them only as inconviences.
Itard made some prgress after a long period of time threatening Victor with throwing him out of a window to get him to be disciplined. This did not work to Itard's advantage and he changed his methods.
The use of cut out letters, Itard taught Victor how to arrange the letters of the alphabet, the how to identify certain words. Victor, however, could not recognize the relationship between the written and the sounds it represented.
[edit] Contributions to Education
Many say that Itard is the Forefather of Special Education because he was the first to develop a individualized educational procedure. His studies were breakthroughs because he developed a student centered approach to his curriculum with Victor and one based on Victor's needs.
Itard's influences in education were seen in the works of Eduard Seguin who expanded Itard's Sensory-training approach used for developing the minds of special needs children and developed an intellegence test that was non-verbal.
Maria Montessori, whose work with normally developed children, had its roots in the works of Seguin. Montessori schools are all over the World and provide an alternative to the public education methods through a well developed philosophy of education.
[edit] References and other links of interest
References
Itard, J.M.G. (1962). The wild boy of Aveyron. (G. Humphrey & M. Humphrey, Trans.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. (Original works published 1801 and 1806).
Newton, M. (2004). Savage girls and wild boys: A history of feral children. Faber and Faber, London. Picador, New York. pg. 98-127.
Other Links of Interest
