Article Text
Paediatric lessons from the past
“Of stupidity or folly”: Thomas Willis's perspective on mental retardation
Abstract
“Mental retardation” is a modern term for an age old problem. The descriptions of paediatric cases contained within the works of Thomas Willis (1621–75) have been increasingly recognised for their insight into seventeenth century child health practices.
- Thomas Willis
- mental retrdation
- learning difficulty
- stupidity
- folly' autistic savant