Vineland Training School

The Vineland Training School is a non-profit organization in Vineland, New Jersey with the mission of educating people with developmental disabilities so they can live independently. It has been a leader in research and testing.

The Training School changed its name several times. According to the website of the Vineland Training School, the original official name was "The New Jersey Home for the Education and Care of Feebleminded Children” (1888). This was changed to “The New Jersey Training School” in 1893. In 1911, the name was changed again to “The Training School at Vineland”. In 1965 its name was changed to American Institute for Mental Studies- The Training School Unit, or the "AIMS". Finally in 1988 the name “The Training School at Vineland” was restored. However, the literature also makes reference to the "Vineland Training School for Backward and Feeble-minded Children" and "Vineland Training School for Feeble-Minded Girls and Boys" and other variations.

The Psychological Research Laboratory at the Training School was founded in 1906, and was the first research facility devoted to studying mental deficiencies in the US.

Cumberland County Senator Stephen Ayres Garrison unsuccessfully attempted to secure funding for a school for intellectually disabled children in New Jersey in 1845. Instead, a facility in Elwyn, Pennsylvania was funded by the New Jersey State legislature.

Reverend S. Olin Garrison was offered the Scarborough Mansion and 40 acres (160,000 m²) to establish a facility for the mentally challenged in Vineland, New Jersey by philanthropist B. D. Maxham. On March 1, 1888 the training school officially opened with 55 children. In 1892 Garrison instituted the "cottage plan" in which the residents lived in small bungalows on the grounds.

Some claim that the Vineland Training School became the 3rd facility of its kind in the US. The first was the Walter E. Fernald State School, established in 1848. The second was the Elwyn Training School, established in 1852. However, there were also several related institutions established in the mid-19th century, such as the Syracuse State School in 1853 in New York State, the Private Institute for Imbeciles in Harlem, New York in 1856 and the Newark State School in New York in 1878.

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