🏫 Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center

The Walter E. Fernald State School, later the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center, was the Western Hemisphere's oldest publicly funded institution serving people with developmental disabilities. Under its third superintendent, Walter E. Fernald, it became a model for state institutions for the developmentally disabled. It later was the scene of medical experiments in the 20th century. Investigations into this research led to new regulations regarding human research in children.