The ‘truth’ about idiocy: revisiting files of children in the Dutch ‘School for Idiots’ in the nineteenth century.

In 1855 the Revd C. E. Van Koetsveld established his ‘School for Idiots’ in The Hague. Within two years, he had also opened a boarding facility that accommodated many of his pupils. Legal regulations demanded authorisation for a child to be placed in this asylum. This procedure included a questionnaire on the condition of the child. The paper discusses the analysis of data included in the files of 187 children admitted to Van Koetsveld’s institution between 1857 and 1873. In an earlier examination of these data, the author was intrigued about what could be inferred from these data. In this paper the same question is addressed from a new angle by applying the theoretical and methodological perspective of ‘praxeography’. This approach reveals the logic behind the process of inscribing characteristics on vulnerable children. Moreover, the analysis shows how children’s inner worlds were opened up for further examination and social intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]