WHAT THE MOTHER OF A DEAF CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW

 BY

 JOHN DUTTON WRIGHT

FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL OF THE WRIGHT ORAL SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, NEW YORK CITY; COLLABORATOR OF "THE LARYNGO- SCOPE" AND THE "VOLTA REVIEW"; DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION TO PROMOTE THE TEACHING OF SPEECH TO THE DEAF; AUTHOR OF "EDUCA- TIONAL NEEDS OF THE DEAF, " FOR THE GUIDANCE OF PHYSICIANS

 [Illustration: Logo]

 NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS

 _Copyright, 1915, by_

 FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

 _All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages_

 _March, 1915_

 TO MY WIFE

 AT WHOSE SUGGESTION THIS LITTLE BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN ORDER THAT MOTHERS MAY DO ALL IN THEIR POWER FOR THEIR DEAF CHILDREN

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE PREFACE ix-xix

 I. FACING THE FACTS 1

 II. HOW SHALL THE MOTHER BEGIN HER PART OF THE WORK? 5

 III. HOW SHALL THE MOTHER GET INTO COMMUNICATION WITH HER DEAF CHILD? 13

 IV. WHAT ABOUT THE BABY'S SPEECH? 20

 V. DEVELOPING THE MENTAL FACULTIES 22

 VI. DEVELOPING THE LUNGS 30

 VII. THE CULTIVATION OF CREATIVE IMAGINATION 32

 VIII. FURTHER TESTS OF HEARING 34

 IX. THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDUAL HEARING 38

 X. DEVELOPING THE POWER OF LIP-READING 43

 XI. FORMING CHARACTER 47

 XII. CULTIVATING THE SOCIAL INSTINCT 50

 XIII. SOMETHING ABOUT SCHOOLS AND METHODS 53

 XIV. THE PRESERVATION OF SPEECH. WHEN DEAFNESS RESULTS FROM ACCIDENT OR ILLNESS AFTER INFANCY 58

 XV. TEACHING LIP-READING 61

 XVI. SCHOOL AGE 63

 XVII. ORGANIZED EFFORTS BY PARENTS TO OBTAIN BETTER EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS 65

XVIII. A PERSONAL MATTER FOR EACH PARENT 68

 XIX. DAY SCHOOLS 72

 XX. THE DEAF CHILD AT FIVE YEARS OF AGE 73

 XXI. SCHOOLS FOR THE HEARING AND PRIVATE GOVERNESSES 75

 XXII. IMPORTANCE OF THE BEGINNING 80

XXIII. AVOID THE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED TEACHER 82

 XXIV. ON ENTERING SCHOOL 83

 XXV. DURING THE SCHOOL PERIOD 98

 XXVI. DURING VACATION 101

XXVII. SOME NOTS 107

PREFACE

The mother of a little deaf child once wrote as follows:

 "As a mother of a deaf child, and one whose experience has been unusual only in that it has been more fortunate than that of the average mother so situated, I want to place before you (the teachers of the deaf) a plea for the education of the parents of little deaf children. 

 "While you are laboring for the education of the deaf, and for their sakes are training teachers to carry on the work, there are, in almost every home that shelters a little deaf child, blunders being made that will retard his development and hinder your work for years to come--blunders that a little timely advice might prevent. We parents are not willfully ignorant, not always stupidly so; but that we are in most cases densely so, there can be no doubt. 

 "Can you for the moment put yourselves into our place? Suppose you are just the ordinary American parents, perhaps living far from the center of things. You know in a hazy way that there are deaf and blind and other afflicted people--perhaps you have seen some of them. 

 "Now, into your home comes disease or a sudden awakening to the meaning of existing conditions, and you find that _your_ child is _deaf_. 

 "At first your thought is of physicians; they fail you. Advice from friends and advertisements from quacks pour in upon you; still you find no comfort and no help. 

 "You stop talking to the child. What is the use? He cannot hear you! You pity him--oh, infinitely! And your pity takes the form of indulgence. You love him and you long to understand him; but you cannot interpret him and he feels the change, the helplessness in your attitude toward him. You try one thing after another, floundering desperately in your effort to discover what radical step must be taken to meet this emergency. After a time you seize upon the idea that seems to you the best. Probably it is to wait until he is six or seven and then put him into an institution. But while you wait for school age to arrive, you lose that close touch with the soul of your child which may be established only in these early years, for you have no adequate means of communication with him--no way to win his confidence. Soon the child has passed this stage, and no school can ever give him what you might and would have given had you known how. 

 "You who are trained teachers of the deaf can hardly realize the need of advice about matters perfectly obvious to YOU; but the need exists. May I tell you from my own experience a few of the things about which you might advise--you, who know!

 "In the first place, suggest to parents that they make simple tests of their children's hearing; and tell them how and why those who are _partially_ deaf should be helped. 

 "Then tell them to talk, and talk, and talk, to their little deaf ones--to say everything and say it naturally. And tell them some things in particular that should be said--commands, etc. , and _certainly_ 'I love you. ' Tell them to speak in whole sentences. Give them an idea of the possibilities of lip-reading. 

 "Tell them that _by the expression of the face_ they may convey to the deaf child the interest, approval, disapproval, etc. , that they would express to a hearing child in the tone of voice. 

 "Tell them that there is _rarely_ an untrained person who can _safely_ meddle with articulation. 

 "Tell them that it is not true that all deaf children are bad; that the deaf must learn obedience as others do. 

 "Tell them the many things which you wish your pupils had learned before they entered school. 

 "Only this I beg of you--tell them! "LUCILE M. MOORE. "

For the sake of presenting the ideas contained in this little book in asomewhat systematic manner it was best to arrange them on thesupposition that they would come to the notice of the mothers whiletheir children were yet less than two years of age. In many cases, however, this will not be the case. When, therefore, the child is three, four, or five years old when this falls into the hands of the mother, itwould still be well if she carried out the suggestions in the order inwhich they are here arranged. With the maturity of mind and body thatcomes with the added years, the child can pass through the earlierstages of the training much more rapidly than can be the case with thebaby. Nevertheless, the preliminary steps should not be omitted. A childof four can be carried in six months through the exercises that occupiedtwo years when begun with the child of twelve months, but the olderchild should not be started with exercises suggested for the years aftertwo. 

Mothers of deaf children cannot be expected to be trained teachers ofthe deaf. It would be useless, and, in fact, often unfortunate, to askthem to attempt to teach articulation to their children. Even for themto teach the children to write would usually be undesirable because thegreatest gain from the mother's efforts comes from the earlyestablishment of the speech-reading habit and _entire_ dependence uponit. It is a very great help to have this habit fixed before writing istaught. There is no haste about the child's learning to write. That iseasily and quickly accomplished when the proper time comes. Thedifficult thing to do is, very fortunately, the thing the mother is bestfitted to accomplish, namely, to create in the child the ability tointerpret speech by means of the eye, and the habit of expecting to getideas by watching the face of a speaker. 

With these ideas in mind there has been careful avoidance in thislittle book of any suggestion that the mother should be anxious aboutthe speech development of the child before five years of age. If she hasthe patience and the time to follow the directions given, she will havedone her child a very great service; the greatest that lies within herpower; and she will have laid the foundation for a more rapid and betterdevelopment of speech than would have been possible without herpreliminary training. 

Not every mother will find it possible to carry out all the suggestionsoffered in this little book, but no one should feel discouraged on thataccount. It seemed best to offer too many suggestions rather than toofew, because these pages may fall into the hands of some mothers whosesituation is such that full advantage can be taken of every idea heregiven. Presence of too much matter in the little book will not destroyits usefulness in cases where only a portion can be applied, whereas thelack of some of the ideas might limit its value in certain instances. No one should give up in despair just because it is not possible to doall that is here suggested. Something, at least, can be found here whichit is possible to do that will help very much. 

Sometimes, through a false sense of shame, or through ignorance of thepossibilities open to a deaf child, mothers have refused to admit thattheir children were deaf, or to allow anything to be done for them, until very valuable time has been lost. This is unfair to the child, andvery wrong. A mother should have only pity for the deaf child andeagerness to aid him to overcome his handicap so far as possible. Delayin frankly facing the facts and in taking all possible measures todevelop the remaining faculties will in the end only increase themother's shame and add to it the pangs of remorse. 

In a little book written to guide physicians in advising parents of deafchildren, I said:

"The situation of a deaf child differs very much, from an educationalstandpoint, from that of the little hearing child. Two hours a dayplaying educational games in a kindergarten is as much as is usuallygiven, or is needful, for the little hearing child up to six or sevenyears of age; and his mental development and success in after life willnot be seriously endangered if even that is omitted and he does notbegin to go to school until he is eight or nine. The hearing child ofeight who has never been in school and cannot read or write has, nevertheless, without conscious effort, mastered the two most importanteducational tasks in life. He has learned to speak and has acquired thegreater part of his working vocabulary. In other words, although he hasnever been across the threshold of a school, his education is welladvanced for his years and mental development. 

"The situation of the uninstructed deaf child of eight is verydifferent. The task which it has taken the hearing child eight years toaccomplish, the deaf child of eight has not even begun. He cannot speaka word; he does not even know that there is such a thing as a word. Heis eight years behind his hearing brother, and even if he starts now, unless some means can be found for aiding him to overtake his brothereducationally, he will be only eight years old in education when he issixteen years of age. And when he is sixteen, the psychological periodwill have passed for acquiring what he should have learned when he waseight. The fact that the child is deaf does not exempt him from theinexorable laws of mental psychology and heredity. In the development ofthe human mind there is a certain period when all conditions arefavorable for the acquisition of speech and language. Unnumberedgenerations of ancestors acquired speech and language at that stage oftheir mental development, and this little deaf descendant's mind obeysthe law of inherited tendencies. 

"If the speech and language-learning period, from two years of age toten, is allowed to pass unimproved, the task of learning them later isrendered unnecessarily difficult. 

"Therefore, in the case of the little deaf child, the years from two toten are crucial, and of far greater importance than the same period inthe case of the hearing child. "

Even though the child be totally deaf from birth, he can nevertheless betaught to speak and to understand when others speak to him. He can begiven the same education that he would be capable of mastering if hecould hear. The mother need not be despairing nor heart-broken. Aprompt, brave, and intelligent facing of the situation will result inmaking the child one to be proud of and to lean upon. 

 JOHN D. WRIGHT. 

1 Mount Morris Park, West, New York City. February, 1915. 

WHAT THE MOTHER OF A DEAF CHILD OUGHT TO KNOW

(_Mothers are strongly advised to read the Preface_)

I

FACING THE FACTS

While deafness is a serious misfortune, it is neither a sin, nor adisgrace, to be ashamed of. It is a handicap, to be sure, but one to bebravely and cheerfully faced, for it does not destroy the chances forhappiness and success. It is cause for neither discouragement nordespair. It will demand patient devotion and courageous effort toovercome the disadvantage, but what mother is not willing to show thesein large measure for her child when the future holds assurance ofcomfort and usefulness?

The earlier that the facts are known and squarely faced, the better. Itis always wiser in life to prepare for the worst and gratefully acceptthe best, than to refuse to acknowledge the possibility of the worstuntil it is too late to remedy it, or at least to reduce it to itslowest terms. 

When a mother first suspects that her child's hearing is not perfectlynormal, what should she do? Of course, first of all, the best availableear specialist should be consulted at once in order to determine whetherthe cause can be removed and normal hearing restored. Sometimes, however, the specialists are uncertain of the outcome, and sometimestheir hopes are not realized. In the meantime, precious days and weeksare passing in which something could be done for the little oneeducationally, without in any way interfering with the medical effortsat relief. The two things can be, and should be, carried onsimultaneously. If normal hearing is restored no harm has been done bythe educational training; in fact, the development of the child has beenadvanced. On the other hand, if the hopes that were entertained aredisappointed, then precious and irrecoverable time has not been lost. 

The title presupposes that the mother has already accepted the fact thather child's hearing is not perfect, and, for the sake of the child, itis to be hoped that this knowledge came to her very promptly after theoccurrence of the deafness. 

One would naturally expect a mother, of her own accord, to carefullytest all the senses of her child by many simple and repeated exercisesduring the first few months of its life. The many cases, however, inwhich deafness on the part of a child has not been recognized, or atleast not acknowledged, by the mother till the third, fourth, or evenfifth year, show a strange neglect of a highly desirable investigation, and a natural unwillingness to accept a truth, the possibility of whichmust certainly have occurred to her long before. 

If she could only realize that she need not feel downcast andheavy-hearted by reason of her little one's imperfect hearing; if shecould only know that she need not look forward to a life for himdifferent from that of other children; if she could understand thattraining and education can enable him to overcome to an extraordinarydegree the disadvantage of deafness, she would set about the task withcheerfulness and hope, and if she knew that the sooner she began, thebetter it would be for the little one, she would not stubbornly refusefor so long to acknowledge even the possibility of deafness. 

II

HOW SHALL THE MOTHER BEGIN HER PART OF THE WORK?

First of all, something like an inventory should be taken of thefaculties possessed by the child which he can use in working out hisproblem. Has he good sight, normal smell, taste, muscular sense, andmemory? To what extent is his hearing impaired? Is there any possibilityof restoring it to normal acuteness, or of improving it, or ofpreventing any further impairment?

The completeness with which these questions can be answered depends, toa considerable extent, on his age and his physical condition. We willsuppose that he is about fifteen months old and in good bodilycondition. If he is older, the same tests would be used to begin with, though we could at once pass on to more complicated and difficult onesthat cannot as yet be used with the fifteen-months-old baby. 

First, with regard to sight. We wish to know if he can distinguishreasonably small objects at reasonable distances; whether he can seemoderately small things at short distances; whether the angle of hisvision is normal. In other words, whether his range and angle of visionare sufficient for all ordinary purposes. 

If he can recognize his father or mother or brothers and sisters at adistance of a hundred feet he can see far enough for all practicalpurposes. If he readily finds a small object like a pin or a small blackbead when dropped on the floor, his sight is sharp enough at short rangeto serve his purposes. If his attention can be attracted by waving ahand or a little flag or a flower fifty or sixty degrees on either sideof the direction in which he is looking, that is, two-thirds of the wayto the side of his head, his angle of vision is sufficiently wide. If hecan pick out from seven balls of worsted of the seven primarycolors--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet--the ballthat matches another of the same color, he is at least not color-blindand has a sufficient sense of color for the ordinary purposes of life. It may be necessary to wait till eighteen months for a satisfactorycolor test. Color blindness, when present, is usually most apparent in afailure to distinguish between red and green, these two widely differingcolors seeming to produce the same impression upon the color-blind eye. The child will be just as likely to choose a red ball to match the greenone in his hand as to select another red ball. But repeated tests shouldbe made before accepting color blindness as a fact, since sometimes thebrain can be educated to discriminate between red and green even whenthe impressions have not the normal degree of difference. 

The tests for taste, smell, muscular sense, touch, and memory cannot bemade with much thoroughness or satisfaction till two years of age, though observation will show a recognition by taste and smell of thatwhich is agreeable and that which is disagreeable. Accurate tests ofhearing cannot be made till the child is three or four, but it ispossible when he is twelve months old to determine whether the hearingis normal or is seriously impaired, and it is very desirable that thisshould be done. 

The expression "seriously impaired, " when applied to the hearing of alittle child, must be given an entirely different interpretation than itwould have if used with reference to an adult who had previously hadnormal hearing. A degree of impairment that would be unimportant in anadult is a very serious matter in the case of a child. This is becausethe ear is the natural teacher of speech and language. If the sounds ofspeech are not clearly heard the imitation of them will always beimperfect, and the acquisition of language will be impeded. If deafnessis so great that spoken words are not heard at all, then the child willnot learn to speak and to understand when spoken to unless speciallytaught. A much slighter degree of deafness will prevent the properacquisition of speech and language than would in later life prevent thecomprehension of conversation in a familiar language. As even the childof fifteen months would benefit from some modifications of the ordinarytreatment of a baby, if his hearing was not normally acute, it is to hisadvantage to have the fact of his deafness known at once by those incharge of him. 

It is not as easy as it might seem to the inexperienced to determineeven approximately the situation of a fifteen-months-old baby withrespect to its hearing. Our interest here is, of course, in the tests ofhearing that do not require special apparatus and special training. Inthe case of a child less than two years of age we must rely upon merelyattracting his attention by various sounds, judging the effect upon himby his expression and actions. We cannot, at that age, establish asystem of responses, nor expect him to imitate the sounds he hears. Sounds should be used for testing that disturb only the air, and arenot sufficiently low and powerful to set in vibration the floor, chair, or any other object with which he may be in contact. Deaf childrenrapidly become abnormally sensitive to vibrations, which are to themwhat noises are to us. A rather smooth, not too shrill, whistle is oneexcellent sound to use. Not a fluttering whistle like the postman's, nora heavy tone like an organ pipe or bass horn. Clapping the hands is agood initial test of a crude nature; then a moderate whistle, varyingthe pitch, for sometimes high sounds are perceived, but not low ones, orvice versa. Then a bell, such as a small table bell, the telephone, electric door bell, etc. Lastly, the human voice in various pitches, volumes, distances, and vowels. Little by little it can be determinedwhether the child hears all the sounds, and if not, then which, if any, he perceives. A totally deaf child may often deceive the investigator byturning his head at the critical moment, apparently in response to thesound that was made, while, on the other hand, a child very slightlydeaf, or not deaf at all, may completely ignore the sounds made for thepurpose of attracting his attention. Therefore, it takes time andrepeated tests under varying environments to gradually eliminatepossible errors and coincidences. 

It must be remembered that the intensity with which a sound affects theear varies inversely as the square of the distance from the ear to thesource of the sound. That is to say, if exactly the same sound isrepeated at half the distance, the intensity with which it reaches theear is four times as great as before, and if the distance is quartered, the intensity is sixteen times as great. In other words, if "ah" isspoken with a certain loudness eight inches from the child's ear, andthen again with exactly the same pitch and volume only two inches fromhis ear, it will be sixteen times as loud to him as it was the firsttime. 

These simple tests will serve to determine whether the child has, or hasnot, a normal acuteness of hearing. They will not serve to determinewith any accuracy the degree of impairment, if it is found that thehearing is impaired at all. More thorough tests will have to bepostponed till the child is two years old or more. But the moment thatimpaired hearing is suspected, the best available ear specialist shouldbe consulted in order to determine whether the cause can be removed, ormeasures taken to prevent a progressive increase in deafness. 

The visit to the otologist should be repeated at intervals of not morethan eight or ten months, even where there is no question of treatment, in order that any change in the physical condition of the organs may bepromptly detected. 

III

HOW SHALL THE MOTHER GET INTO COMMUNICATION WITH HER DEAF CHILD?

Let it be assumed that when the child is fifteen months old it is fairlywell established that his hearing is somewhat below normal. Betweenfifteen months and two years of age all that is said in this sectionwill apply equally to the child who is _feared_ to be _totally_ deaf andto one who is known to possess some sound perception, though not anormal degree of hearing. For, until he is old enough to respond to morecomplete and accurate tests, we must not give up the idea that he mayhave a sufficient remnant of hearing to be of great assistance to him inthe acquisition of speech and language, if it is only developed andtrained. 

Between the ages of twelve months and twenty-four months the child withperfect hearing makes rapid progress in learning to understand what issaid to him, and by the time he is two years old has usually begun tospeak many words and sentences in a more or less imperfect way. This hasbeen accomplished principally by the mother's constant talking to herbaby. If she has had the good sense to always speak in simple butcomplete sentences, and to avoid the foolish "baby talk" unfortunatelyaffected by some people in addressing little children, the results ofher daily and hourly talk is the possession by the child of aconsiderable vocabulary of words whose meaning he knows, and a lessnumber that he is able himself to speak in a rather imperfect way. 

In what respects should the mother modify her treatment of the baby ifshe suspects that his hearing is defective? She should not talk to himany the less on this account, but, on the contrary, she should talk tohim more. She should, however, speak a little louder, a little nearer tohim, possibly a little more slowly and distinctly, exercising thegreatest caution, however, not to exaggerate speech into unnaturalfacial contortions, or to accompany it by gestures. To fall into thehabit of mouthing and gesticulating, making faces and motions, willdefeat entirely the purpose of all efforts to develop an understandingof speech by the child. Unfortunately, such exaggerated and absurdspeech is a natural and very prevalent fault. To avoid it is absolutelynecessary, but requires constant watchfulness, as there is a strongtemptation to try to make speech-reading easy for the child by openingthe mouth wide and making extraordinary movements of the tongue. 

The object aimed at is to lead the child to interpret natural, everydayspeech, and such facial contortions and exaggerations cut him off frompractice in reading natural speech. This point cannot be too stronglyemphasized. Speak naturally and normally _always_ to the deaf child. 

Above all, the mother should form the habit of watching his eyes and ofspeaking as often as possible when his gaze is fixed upon her face. Thehabit on his part of looking at the face of a speaker, and the habit onhis mother's part of observing his gaze and, when it wanders, of pausingin her talk till he is looking at her again, are two very valuable aidsin the language development of the deaf child. In addition to alwaysraising her voice a little in speaking to her baby, the mother shouldseveral times a day take him in her lap and sing to him, and talk to himwith her lips not far from his ear. Talk to him just as all mothers doto their babies (but not with the mangled and distorted words called"baby talk"), about the pussy, the dog, the bird, his foot, his toes, his arms and hands and fingers; about his papa, brothers, sisters; aboutthe flowers, the grass, the trees, and a thousand other things. Say thegood old Mother Goose rhymes of "Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Baker's Man, ""This little pig went to market, " etc. , etc. But in all your frolics andstories and songs, take the greatest care that he shall hear or see, orbetter still, _both_ see _and_ hear, what you are saying. Gradually hecan be taught to understand many simple commands and questions just ashearing babies learn them, by constant repetition at times and undercircumstances when the meaning is obvious. Such as "come, " "go, " "go topapa, " "come to mamma, " "jump, " "stop, " "kiss mother, " "pet pussy, ""pick up, " "put down, " "milk, " "water, " "bread" (the later in life thathe learns the meaning and taste of "candy" the better), "do you wantsome bread?" "milk, " "water, " etc. "Bring my slippers, " "bring myshoes, " "put on your hat, " "take off your mittens, " "wash your hands, "etc. , etc. , throughout the whole day. 

Very early the mother should learn to consider the direction from whichthe light comes, and should be careful to take her position _facing_ themain source of light which should come from _behind the child_. The eyecan be trained from the very beginning of attention to unconsciouslysupplement an imperfect ear in comprehending spoken words. It is evenpossible for the eye to perform the entire task of interpreting speech, and, if the hearing is entirely lacking, the course outlined will resultin training the brain to interpret the movements of speech as seen bythe eye, as it would have been trained by the same procedure tointerpret the sounds of speech had the organ of transmission not beeninjured. But the idea must be constantly in the mind of the mother thather boy needs to _see_ the spoken word at the very moment _when the ideathat it represents is in his mind_, AS OFTEN as he would hear it if hishearing were perfect. 

This one suggestion, if faithfully lived up to from the age of one yearto that of two years, would be almost enough. But there are other thingsthat the mother can do as the mental development of the baby increaseswith each month of life. She should encourage him to babble and gurgleand murmur, as much as possible, to laugh and crow and make all thevarious baby noises that will train and develop his voice. Encouragenoisy, romping, rollicking games as he gets older, that make him shoutand call, for they are the natural and best voice exercises. 

IV

WHAT ABOUT THE BABY'S SPEECH?

The hearing baby babbles because he gets some pleasure from the sounds, and also because he desires to imitate the sounds of speech he hearsaround him. _He has his attention called constantly to sound. _ The senseof vibration is not as strong nor as instructive as that of sound, butif _the attention_ of the child is early _called_ to it, a watchfulnessfor vibration _from within himself_ as well as from without, can bearoused, and a sensitiveness developed that would not have come asearly, if at all, without special, directive effort on the part of themother. She can lead her little one to oo-oo, and ee-ee, and mamma, andbub-bub, etc. , by doing these babblings herself while the baby is in herarms and his tiny hands are wandering over her lips and face and throat. These exercises will gradually bring a recognition on the part of thechild of the sensation of vibration that accompanies voice, and theywill give facility, coupled with the normal and natural intonations thathave been acquired when he was not conscious of any effort, that willprepare him for a better and more fluent speech when the time comes formore exact articulation training. 

But during the first two or three years of the child's life theprincipal stress should be placed upon his learning to understand whatis said to him, without bothering much about his speaking himself. Inthe case of the hearing child, the understanding of language comesbefore he can himself utter it. This must also be the case with the deafchild, and the period preceding utterance must be longer, by reason ofhis handicap, than in the case of a child with normal hearing. 

V

DEVELOPING THE MENTAL FACULTIES

By the time he is two years old he has gained maturity and grasp enoughto play many little educational games with his mother and his littlebrothers and sisters, or playmates. These games should be calculated todevelop his various faculties, his powers of observation, memory, andconcentration. To develop a faculty is really _to train the brain_. As amatter of fact, we see and hear and taste and smell and feel with ourbrains. The eye of a two-year-old child is practically as perfect anoptical instrument as the eye of a boy of ten, and yet how much more theolder boy seems to see. This is because his brain has been trained to_interpret_ the impressions that even the baby eyes received but did notunderstand. Of course, where the instrument is found to be imperfect wecan assist it by means of additional lenses, or perhaps by some one ofthe skillful operations now performed by oculists, and, as the sight isof such increased importance to a deaf child, the greatest care andwatchfulness should be given to his eyes. Do not let him sleep, or lie, facing the sun, or any other powerful light, but throughout his life becareful that all his use of eyesight be under conditions of ample andwell-directed light. Supposing that the simple tests referred toheretofore have shown that the eyes, as optical instruments, aresufficiently perfect, our efforts need to be to train the brain to takecognizance of, and to interpret the impressions transmitted to it by theeyes. We shall not be able to improve the working of the eye by ourefforts, but we can educate the brain. 

Color and form make the earliest appeal to the child's eyes, and we canuse them for our educational play. The duplicate set of worsted balls ofthe seven primal colors can be increased to include easilydistinguishable shades. The child can be sent on entertaining voyagesof discovery around the room with a ball of a certain color to findother objects similar in color in the rugs, books, chairs, dresses, ties, etc. 

A game to develop observation of form can be made by collecting a groupof objects of varying shapes in a pile on the floor or a low table;mother picks up some one of the objects, directs the attention of thelittle one to it, and after he has observed it somewhat she puts it backin the pile and moves all the objects about till they are well mixed up. Ask the little fellow then to pick out the object mother held in herhand a moment before. When he can do this by sight without difficulty, have him shut his eyes, place an object in his little hands, teach himto feel it over carefully, take it from him, and, while his eyes arestill closed, place it once more in the pile. Let him then open his eyesand see if he can indicate the object he had previously held. When hehas mastered this, give the game another turn by asking him to find bymeans of touch alone, while the eyes are still closed, the object thathe has been feeling, after it is restored to the pile of other objects. Still another turn can be given by first letting him see the object, without touching it, then having him close his eyes, and by touch aloneselect it from the pile. A set of wooden forms, such as spheres, cubes, pyramids, cones, cylinders, and similar, but truncated, forms, can beobtained at any school supply store. To these can be added commonhousehold objects such as small frames, vases, napkin rings, spoons, forks, and other similar things, as well as some of the forms includedin a complete set of the Montessori material. 

The Montessori weighted forms are excellent for training his muscularrecognition of difference of weight, and an excellent way is to putvarious quantities of birdshot into half a dozen exactly similar littlerubber balls that can be purchased at any toy store for two centsapiece. Then hand the boy one of the weighted balls, and after he hasfelt its weight put it back with the other similar-appearing balls andsee if he can again discover it. An outfit for training his tactilesense can be made in any home by collecting duplicate pieces of clothhaving different textures; such as velvet, rough woolen tweeds orhomespun, silk, satin, cambric, muslin, etc. , and pasting one set oncards. Also by stretching on a wooden frame, strings of varying sizes, weaves, and twists, and having a bunch of duplicates from which he canselect, by sight and touch alone, the pieces that correspond, each toeach, with those on the frame or on the cards. If there is a guitar, ormandolin, or zither, or a piano, available, perhaps, by and by, themother can teach the child to recognize the difference in the vibratorysensation perceived by his fingers touching the body of the instrumentwhen a low note and a high note are struck alternately. She can make agame of this, too, by later having him close his eyes and place hisfingers in contact with the instrument and then tell her _approximately_what string or key she struck. The next step, if she can take it, is toplace his little hands upon her chest to feel the lowest notes of hervoice, and upon both the chest and the top of her head to feel thehighest, and endeavoring to get him to recognize the similarity invibratory sensation between what he now feels and what he previouslyfelt on the musical instruments. The last step in this series ofexercises to awaken a recognition of vibratory sensations is to lead himto feel in his own chest and head the vibrations set up by his own voicein shouting and laughing, crying or babbling. 

These hints that are so quickly and easily given, require weeks andmonths of patient, _happy_ effort to carry out. Beware that no one ofthem is repeated or continued so long at a time as to become a thingdreaded and disliked. Remember that the attention of a little child islike a constantly flitting butterfly that rests for only a moment or twoon anything before dancing away to something else. 

There are many little games with kindergarten materials that can beused to develop the powers of attention, observation, imitation, andobedience. The laying in simple designs, by watchful imitation of themother, of colored sticks, colored squares, etc. ; the building withcolored blocks; stringing of _large_ beads; weaving with _wide_ stripsof colored paper simple designs that a mother could invent with thematerial at hand or could learn from any kindergarten manual. The pointthat must be firmly, but _pleasantly_, insisted upon in these exercisesis careful and obedient following by the child of the exact order ofmovement and manner of placing adopted by the mother teacher. The entirevalue of these exercises for the purpose she wishes to accomplishdepends upon _accurate observation_ by the child and _implicitobedience_. 

The material outfit prepared and sold by the American exploiters of theMontessori method is admirably adapted to the development of the buddingfaculties of the child, and the mother who is trying to do all in herpower to prepare her little one to benefit to the greatest possibleextent from the professional instruction that must come later, will makeno mistake in supplying herself with the set of materials, and makingherself intelligent on their use by the child. 

VI

DEVELOPING THE LUNGS

The tendency of the deaf child is to grow up with less development oflungs and of the imagination than hearing children. In order to overcomethis tendency the child must be encouraged and _taught_ to play gamesand use toys that will exercise the lungs and develop the power ofimaginative thought. 

In order to expand and strengthen the lungs through the child's play, supply him with the brightly colored paper wind-mills that he can setwhirling by blowing lustily; also the rubber balloon toys, even thoughthe torturing squeak of the toys is only heard by those in the vicinityand not by himself. An especially good exercise for the gentle andlong-continued control of breath results from the toy blow pipes withconical wire bowls by means of which light, celluloid balls of brightcolors are kept suspended in the air, dancing on the column of breathblown softly through the tube. The more steadily the child blows, themore mysteriously the ball remains at a fixed point, whirling rapidlybut without any apparent support. 

Blowing soap bubbles, especially trying to blow big ones, is very usefulas well as interesting. 

For physical development in which the lungs come in for their share andthe sense of mechanical rhythm is fostered, an excellent exercise ismarching in step to the stroke of the drum, proud in Boy Scout uniform. Dancing is a very desirable accomplishment for the deaf child. 

Tops and tenpins cultivate dexterity, as do playing ball and rollinghoop. 

VII

THE CULTIVATION OF CREATIVE IMAGINATION

This can be greatly helped by early use on the part of the child ofcolored modeling wax to reproduce objects and animals, and to constructmodels of imaginary houses, yards, trees, etc. A sand pile, or a large, shallow sand box, perhaps five feet square, with sides six inches high, and completely lined with enamel cloth to make it watertight, is awonderful implement for constructive play on the part of the child. Whole villages of farms, fields, and forests, ponds and brooks, roadsand railroads, can be made here in miniature. 

Building blocks of wood or stone; the metal construction toy called"Mechano"; dolls, doll houses, furniture, and equipment, are valuable, but they should be simple, inexpensive and not fragile. 

Cut-up picture puzzles, painting books, tracing slates with large andsimple designs cultivate observation and ingenuity. Kaleidoscopes andstereoscopes are excellent, but moving pictures are so trying upon theeyes, and the air of the theaters is so bad, that a deaf child whoseeyes are his only salvation, and whose health is doubly important, should not even know of their existence till he is seven or eight yearsold. 

VIII

FURTHER TESTS OF HEARING

But, as soon as the mother finds her little child sufficiently mature tobenefit by the sense training described above, whether it be at twentyor, as is more likely, at from twenty-four to thirty months, she canbegin to make a more complete and accurate determination of the degreeof his deafness, for now she can establish a system of responses on thepart of the child that will show her when he perceives the sounds sheuses in her tests. 

In order to be certain that the little one knows what she wishes of him, she must begin with some sensation that she is sure he feels. We willassume that he has as yet no speech, and cannot count, at least does notknow the names of the numbers. Let the mother pat him once on theshoulder and then cause him to hold up one of his little fingers. Thenpat him twice, and make him hold up two fingers, then three times andhave him put up three fingers. Now return to one pat and one finger, repeat two pats and the holding up of two of his fingers, and three patsand three fingers. Go over and over this little game until he hasgrasped the idea and will hold up as many fingers as he feels pats. Simple as the idea seems, it will often take a bright child some time torealize what you want him to do. But you are _sure_ that he feels thepats, whereas, if you began at once with sounds, you could not knowwhether his failure to respond was because he did not hear, or throughnot understanding what you expected of him. He will weary of theexercise soon, and then mother may as well turn to something else tillhe has rested. 

Having established this system of response on his part to sensationsperceived, it is not difficult to shift from the number of pats to thenumber of times he hears a noise. This once accomplished, tests can bemade with sounds of different kinds, different pitch, and differentvolume, varying the distance, the instruments, and the vowel when thearticulate sounds are reached. He can be shown a whistle, then, when itis blown behind his back, he will hold up as many fingers as the timesit was blown, if he perceives the sound. He can be asked to distinguishbetween a whistle, a little bell, and the clapping of the hands. When heis successful in that, the vowel sounds may be uttered not far from hisear, but behind him. Begin with "ah" (ä), as this is the most open andstrongest; then try "oh" (o with macron), which is not easily confusedwith ä. Then ee (e with macron). If, after a time, a distance and adegree of loudness are found that enable him to recognize these soundswith unfailing accuracy, or at least 90 per cent. Of the time, thenother sounds can be added, such as aw (a with diaresis below), (a withbreve) (as in hat), (i with macron) (as in ice), oo (as in cool), ow (asin owl). Using these sounds at different pitches, and with differentintensities and distances, a sufficiently accurate estimate can beformed of the degree of his hearing power so far as his present needsare concerned. 

IX

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDUAL HEARING

If any ability to perceive sounds is found, every effort should be madeto lead the child to use it, and as the most essential use of hearing isin the comprehension of spoken language, the principal effort should bemade along that line. 

Take three objects, the names of which are short, with the principalvowels quite easily distinguished. A little toy street car, a cap, and atoy sheep, would do nicely to begin with, as the three words, "car, ""cap, " and "sheep, " are not easily confused. Place two of the objectsbefore him, the car and the sheep, and speak the name of one of them, "car, " we will say, loudly and distinctly close to his ear, but in sucha way that he cannot see your mouth. Then show him the car. Repeat itwith "sheep" and show him the sheep. Repeat "car, " and take his littlehand, put it on the car. Then "sheep, " and make him put his hand on thesheep. Continue this process until he will indicate to you the objectyou name. When he makes only occasional mistakes with two objects, addthe cap. When he can get the right one about 90 per cent. Of the time, then take three new words, returning occasionally to the first three. Very soon his own name and those of others, with photographs to enablehim to indicate which, will prove of interest to him. When he hassuccessfully learned to distinguish a few single words, a beginning canbe made on short sentences. Commands that he can execute are convenient. "Shut your eyes, " "Open your mouth, " "Clap your hands, " can follow drillon the three words, "eyes, " "mouth, " "hands. " "Open the window, " "Shutthe window, " "Open the book, " "Shut the book, " "Open the door, " etc. "Stand up, " "Sit down. " When this beginning has been made, the road isopen to the gradual increase in a hearing vocabulary, but do notattempt so much at once as to confuse and discourage the child. 

The suggestions already made should be studiously followed throughouthis whole childhood. If his hearing is not too seriously impaired, hewill begin to attempt to imitate spoken sounds by the time he istwenty-four to thirty months old. But his ability to imitate sounds isnot an accurate measure of his ability to hear. He may perceive thesounds much better than he is able to reproduce them. Distinct utterancecomes slowly to the child with normal hearing, and still more slowly andimperfectly to the child whose hearing is not good. But the continuedeffort to make him hear _words and sentences_ is a very valuableexercise for him and should be faithfully continued till he is oldenough to respond to the tests of hearing as outlined and it has beendefinitely proved that he cannot possibly tell whether ä, or (o withmacron) or (e with macron) is said, no matter how loud or how near theear the sound is uttered. 

The question will naturally arise as to whether the child's hearing ofspeech can be aided by an electric or mechanical device. When it ispossible to make the child perceive the sound of the vowels with theunaided voice uttered very near the ear, I believe it to be better, atfirst, not to interpose any artificial device. But I have found thatsometimes, in cases where the sound perception was not at firstsufficient to enable the child to distinguish even the most dissimilarvowel sounds, although uttered loudly close to the ear, I could awakenthe attention of the child to sound, and stimulate the dormant power bythe use of an Acousticon. After a few months I have been able todispense with the instrument and use only the unaided voice at closerange. Later, when some vocabulary has been acquired through theseauricular exercises, it is often desirable to return to the Acousticonand teach the child to use it, in _order to extend the distance at whichsounds can be heard_. By the use of the Acousticon, it then becomespossible to communicate by means of the ear without speaking at suchshort range. It is not easy, however, to induce a child to use anAcousticon at all times, whereas an adult will take the time and troublenecessary to become accustomed to the instrument, and will put up withthe slight inconveniences inseparable from its use. 

X

DEVELOPING THE POWER OF LIP READING

In this effort to develop the hearing, however, the necessity must notbe forgotten of also training the brain to associate ideas with what theeye sees on the lips when words are spoken. In the case of the veryslightly deaf child, this visual training is not quite so important asthe auricular training, but when there is much deafness it is the moreimportant of the two. The comprehension of much language can be given tothe little deaf child by constantly talking just as any mother does toher hearing baby, only being always careful to take a position facingthe main source of light, which should come _from behind the child_. 

The hearing child arrives at the association of meaning with the soundsof words only after very many repetitions. How often must the child hear"Mamma, " "Look at mamma, " "See, here is mamma, " "Mamma is coming, ""Mamma is here, " "Where is mamma?" "Do you love mamma?" "Mamma lovesbaby, " etc. , etc. , from morning to night, day after day, week afterweek. The mother does it for pleasure; to play with and pet the dearbaby. She does not think of it as a teaching exercise, but it is a veryimportant one. The deaf baby will learn gradually to associate a meaningwith the various sequences of movement of the lips, if a little care istaken to watch his eyes and to speak when they are directed toward thespeaker, and to stand in such relation to the light that it falls uponthe speaker's face. The speech should be the same as to the hearingchild, but it takes a little more care and watchfulness to have the deafchild _see_ the same word or phrase as _many times_ as the hearing childhears it. If it is spoken when the baby is not looking, it does nothelp. 

When the little one is learning to walk, the mother says, "Come tomamma, " "Go to daddy, " and gradually he learns "come" and "go. " She hashim play hide and seek with another child, and she says, "Where is Tom?""Where is the baby's mouth?" "Where is the baby's nose?" etc. , and byand by he knows "where" and "mouth" and "nose, " and the names of hisplaymates or brothers and sisters. When he is sitting on the floor shepicks him up, saying "up. " When she puts him from her lap to the floorshe says "down. " If he is naughty she says "naughty, " and perhaps spatshis little hands, and so on through the day. A little care on her part, a little added thought and watchfulness, perhaps a few more repetitions, and little by little she will find her deaf baby learning to look at heralways, and to understand much that is said to him. She must all thistime remember, also, that the shades of feeling, pleasure, disappointment, approval, disapproval, doubt, certainty, love, anger, joy, which are largely conveyed to the hearing child by intonation ofvoice, must be conveyed to the deaf baby by facial expression andmanner. They become very keen at interpreting moods by the look. Letthe face be sunny and kind and INTERESTED, if possible. The firstindication of impatience, of being bored and weary, will destroy much ofone's influence with the deaf child. 

Sometimes it is harder to disguise one's feelings in the face than inthe voice. Do not be caught unawares. Interest, cheerfulness, andpatience are tremendous forces to help the little deaf child. 

Some one has said:

 "When you consent, consent cordially; When you refuse, refuse finally; When you punish, punish good-naturedly. "

XI

FORMING CHARACTER

And now that the little one is two or three years old, it may be well tosay a few words about his general training in character and habits. There is a strong, and a not unnatural tendency to maintain an attitudetoward the deaf child that differs from that maintained by sensiblemothers toward their other children. They often set up a differentstandard of conduct and of obligation for the afflicted child. Hisbrothers and sisters are taught to always defer to his wishes; even tothe extent of yielding to improper and selfish demands on his part, andconceding that they have no rights where he is concerned. He is notrequired to perform the little duties demanded of the other children. Heis given privileges which the others do not, and which no one of them, including himself, should enjoy. He grows tyrannical, domineering, andselfish. The mother says: "Poor little chap; he has trouble enough, wemust do all in our power to make up to him for what he misses by reasonof his deafness. " This is, however, a shortsighted, and really a cruelpolicy. It lays up much misery for his future, and in the end proves aserious handicap to one who needs to have as few additional difficultiesas possible. Though it may seem hard-hearted, it is really kinder to puthim on the same basis as any other child. Make him do everythingpossible for himself. Insist upon his being independent; dressinghimself as soon as he is able, buttoning his own shoes, and performingall the little self-help acts that the wise mother demands of all herchildren. Make no distinction in the treatment accorded him. Ask thesame services, reward right actions and punish wrongdoing as impartiallyas if he was not deaf, only being sure that he clearly connects thepunishment with the wrong act. This, in the case of a deaf child, requires a little more care than with a hearing child. Train him to bethoughtful for the comfort of others, and respectful of their rights, just as you insist that the others observe his rights. He cannot beargued with, object lessons and example must be the means of teachinghim manners and morals. 

XII

CULTIVATING THE SOCIAL INSTINCT

Between the ages of two and four years all the games and exercisesheretofore described can continue to be used, together with othersincreasingly difficult and complicated, as the child's mind develops andhis powers of observation, attention, and memory increase. Take veryspecial care that he learns all the childhood games that other childrenknow and enjoy. Devote yourself more to him in this respect than youwould in the case of another child. Encourage the neighbors' children tocome and play with him by making it especially pleasant for them. Teachthem yourself to play "Hide the Thimble, " "Hide and Seek, " "Drop theHandkerchief, " "Going to Jerusalem, " "Old Maid, " "Bean Bag. " Follow theLeader is an excellent game by which to teach watchfulness andimitation. Cat and Mouse, Hot Potato, Ring on a String, are all gamesthat can be played by groups and cultivate quickness. Ping Pong Footballis excellent as a lung developer. That is the choosing of sides andtrying to blow a ping pong ball between the goal posts formed by a pairof salt shakers at opposite ends of a table. Or blowing a feather acrossa sheet by opposing sides. Encourage good, romping, noisy games in whichthe children naturally laugh and shout. They are the best ofvoice-developing exercises, and by such means, and his long-distanceshouting and calling to his playmates, the little hearing child gainsmuch of his lung and voice power. In all his games, as in all his otheractivities, take very _special_ pains to talk to him, using theregulation expressions and training him to watch for the "It's yourturn, " or "Now, Tom, " "Ready, " "Whose turn is it?" etc. , etc. 

If the foregoing suggestions have been carefully carried out since hewas twelve months old, he will long ago have arrived unconsciously atthe knowledge that all things, and all actions, and all feelings, havenames, and that the mouth always makes the same sequence of movementsfor the same thing. In the babbling exercises recommended, he willgradually come to utter many of the vowel and consonant sounds of hisnative language; especially those that are made by the lips, and byevident positions of the tongue. Those sounds that require hiddenpositions of the organs, such as the sound of C and K in cat and ark, orG in go and dog, or ng in long, he is unlikely to have stumbled upon. These can be taught when the proper time comes, but their absence forthe present need cause no anxiety. In fact, up to the time when he isthree and a half or four years old, the matter of speaking is not one tobe much troubled about. If the conception of language has been given himthrough lip-reading, and some ability to understand the necessarylanguage of his daily life, his future success is assured. 

XIII

SOMETHING ABOUT SCHOOLS AND METHODS

Till the child is at least four years old, the proper place for him isat home, and if he must be sent to one of the large public schools forthe deaf it should not be till he is five or even six years of age. 

But during these years the mother can gain much knowledge that will helpher by visiting as many schools for the deaf as possible. There areabout a hundred and fifty such schools in the United States and eight inCanada. They vary in size, in character, and in methods of instructionemployed. There are public boarding schools, and public day schools, free to the resident of the state, or city, in which they are located. There are private boarding and day schools, maintained by charity, or bythe tuition fees. Some of each class are oral schools; that is, theyemploy only speech methods of instruction, without any signs or fingerspelling. Others are called "Combined" schools; that is, they permit, and in some exercises encourage, the use of finger spelling and gesturalsigns, while they also give some instruction by the speech method. Thereare sectarian and non-sectarian schools, both oral and combined. 

A very considerable number of schools for the deaf in the United Statesand Canada still use manual, or silent, methods of instruction, at leastin part. But the speech, or oral, method is steadily growing inpopularity, and gradually supplanting manual spelling and gesturalsigns. The time will certainly come when the public will be toointelligent to any longer tolerate the use between teacher and pupil, orbetween any employee and the pupils, in a school for the deaf, anysystem of manual communication. 

_Every deaf child, no matter if born totally deaf and of a low order ofintelligence, can be given as much education by the exclusive use of thespeech method as it can by any manual, or silent, method or by acombination of the speech and the silent method. _ This is not the mereexpression of an opinion, but the statement of a fact; a fact firmlyestablished by actual results in state institutions where, unfortunately, the law requires the admission of pupils too poorlyequipped intellectually to belong in a school with normally brightchildren. In addition to acquiring all the education of which his mentalendowment makes him capable, he can be taught to speak and to understandwhen spoken to. The degree of perfection attainable depends upon theability of the child, the skill of the teaching, and especially upon_the environment_ in which the child passes its formative educationalyears. The probability of the child's acquiring a maximum proficiency inspeaking and in understanding others when they speak, is lessened indirect proportion to the extent to which he is permitted to use thesilent or manual means of communication. In the so-called "combined"schools, the _environment_ is largely manual. A visit to theplaygrounds, the baseball fields, the shops, dining rooms, anddormitories of "combined" schools will disclose the pupils using silentmeans of communication, not only between themselves, _but with those incharge of them. They do not think in spoken forms, but in fingerspelling and signs_. The powerful influence of environment in thoseschools is _against_ the acquisition of the speech and lip-readinghabit. 

The mother who has faithfully followed the suggestions offered in theforegoing pages will be able to appreciate what she sees on visiting theschools, and will gain much more from such visits than one who isentirely inexperienced in the problem. Every mother should make it herbusiness to visit at least one _purely oral_ school, in order that shemay make herself thoroughly intelligent on what may be expected of adeaf child. 

Unfortunately, pure oral schools are not as plentiful as "combined"schools, but it will well repay any parent to make a journey, evenacross the continent, if necessary, in order to study the workings ofsome good, purely oral, school. Do not be satisfied with a visit to thenearest "combined" school. 

_You owe it to your child_ to make yourself thoroughly intelligent as tothe _possibilities_ open to a deaf child. You will not be intelligenttill you have personally visited some good _purely oral_ school. 

The number, character, location, etc. , of the schools are constantlychanging. A descriptive list of all schools corrected to date will begladly supplied by the author to any one requesting it. 

XIV

THE PRESERVATION OF SPEECH

WHEN DEAFNESS RESULTS FROM ACCIDENT OR ILLNESS AFTER INFANCY

Up to this point it has been assumed that deafness occurred before theage of two years, and before the child had begun to speak. In caseswhere, through accident or illness, impairment of hearing has come afterthe child has begun to talk, the mother should bend all her efforts uponkeeping the speech of her child. The younger the child, the moredifficult is the task. Without the greatest vigilance and increasingattention, the speech of a little child who has become deaf will faderapidly away, until it is lost entirely, and must be artificiallyrecreated when he is old enough to grasp the complicated ideas involvedin speech teaching to the deaf. But by persistently encouraging him totalk, and never, even for a day, allowing him to lapse into silence, and_by not accepting careless and faulty utterance, but pretending not tounderstand till the child speaks distinctly and correctly_, the naturalspeech, which was his before deafness occurred, can be preserved, andthe speech habit thoroughly fixed. If, by good luck, the little one haslearned to read even a simple primer before becoming deaf, it will bemuch easier to prevent a loss of speech. For this reading can be made anexcuse for frequently using his speech. But when the child cannot read, the mother must depend entirely upon inducing him to talk to her, refusing to give him anything, or grant his request, till he asks for itin good spoken form; showing him pictures, playing games, frolickingwith him; doing everything that a mother's love and ingenuity cansuggest, to keep him talking all day long. 

The tendency of the child will be to drop, or slur, the final syllablesof the words; to leave off the sound of final _ed_; to lose thesharpness of the _s_; to blur the _l_; and sometimes to lose the soundof _k_ and _c_. But, if he has learned to read, by pointing to theseletters in the words he has spoken imperfectly, he will correct his ownmistake. Prompt and increasing attention to the little fellow's speechduring the first year after deafness occurs will usually serve to fixcorrect habits for life. 

XV

TEACHING LIP READING

All that has been said about training the little deaf child to read thelip movements and associate them with the names of things and ofactions, will apply also to the little boy who has suddenly been madedeaf, after speech has been learned. Be careful that he is looking atyou always when you speak to him or reply to some question he has asked, but speak just as you would have done before he became deaf. You mayhave to repeat things to him very often at first, but do not permit anysign of impatience in your face. Do not let him get the idea that it isa hardship to talk to him. Remember that you are changing his manner ofunderstanding speech over to another way, and that his present andfuture happiness depends very greatly on the thoroughness and promptnesswith which it is done. In all dealings with a deaf child the mothershould remember that the child draws his impressions of the characterand the feelings of those about him from the expression of their faces, and many almost unconscious little acts and gestures. Avoid verycarefully any appearance of being impatient, or bored, or contemptuousat his failures. Try to understand the difficulties under which he isworking to maintain his place in the world. Do not humor his whims, orspoil him by indulgence, yet treat him with the greatest considerationand fairness. Above all, be cheerful and, at least apparently, interested in his doings and sayings. 

XVI

SCHOOL AGE

The question of what is "school age" for a deaf child is answered verydifferently by different people. Most of the state institutions for thedeaf in the United States, Canada, and Europe will not admit childrenyounger than six years of age. Seven years is still the age of admissionin some institutions, but the tendency is to lower the age limit. Insome schools children of five are admitted, in a few those as young asfour, and in two or three small schools babies of two and three arereceived. Any statement here must, therefore, be taken as only theexpression of the author's opinion, resulting from more than twenty-fiveyears of active teaching, combined with wide observation. 

It would appear that, where home conditions are not bad, eitherphysically or morally, the proper place for the little deaf child tillhe is nearly, or quite, five, is with his mother. Very much can be donefor the little one before he is five to prepare him for the instructionwhich should be given at that age, but it is possible for the mother todo what is necessary, and even the simplest home conditions arepreferable for very little children to the institutional environment. Itis impossible, in a school of from one hundred to five hundred pupils, to create a real home environment, such as the very little child shouldhave. It is really a pity that the child of five should have to beplaced in the institutional environment as it at present exists. If thelegislative bodies of our states, and the gentlemen who manage theschools, could only be induced to adopt the cottage plan of housing insmall units, the disadvantages of institutional life would be enormouslyreduced. 

XVII

ORGANIZED EFFORTS BY PARENTS TO OBTAIN BETTER EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS

It should be possible for every taxpayer in every state who has a deafchild and who has not the means or the wish to place that child in aprivate school, to have the child educated in a free public school ascompletely by the speech method as his hearing children are educated bythat method. He should not be compelled to send his child out of thestate or else subject him to the influence of signs and finger spelling, with the probability that he will leave school a deaf mute. Unfortunately, in many states, this is not possible at present. But ifthe parents of deaf children would organize themselves into "Parents'Associations" and send representatives to the governors and legislativecommittees; and arrange for demonstrations by orally educated deafchildren from pure oral schools; and carry on an active campaign ofenlightenment and of agitation, the present state of affairs would sooncease to exist. 

I wish to make an urgent plea for the energetic efforts of all parentsof deaf children to improve the speech-teaching conditions in theirrespective localities. At present, very far from all that is possible isbeing done to give deaf children a ready command of spoken English, anda working ability to understand when spoken to. The persons who have themost at stake in this matter, and who should be most active andpersistent in demanding from the school authorities and legislaturesbetter facilities for the acquisition of speech by deaf children, arethe parents of those children. In each locality these parents shouldorganize into "Parents' Associations. " These local associations should, in turn, be connected by a statewide organization composed ofrepresentatives from each local association. These state organizationscould then be combined by representation in a national organization ofall the parents of deaf children in the United States. Such completeorganization once effected, the reasonable demands made in the interestsof better results in speech teaching would quickly be complied with bythe respective schools and the legislatures or boards of directors thatcontrol them. The associations could induce their local papers to aid ina campaign to educate public opinion by printing facts concerning whatis done elsewhere. If all parents of deaf children only knew what mightbe accomplished, and were so organized as to permit them to presenttheir wishes forcibly to those able to change conditions, the deaf childwould quickly come into his own. 

XVIII

A PERSONAL MATTER FOR EACH PARENT

Let some parent in each locality make it his or her business to get thenames and addresses of all other parents of deaf children in thevicinity. Induce them to come together some evening and choose achairman and an executive committee of three. Let these four people makea point of studying the education of the deaf as conducted in the mostadvanced communities. Let the executive committees of the several localassociations get together once or twice a year for a sort of stateconvention of parents. Let them invite leading educators to addressthem, and let them appoint committees to visit schools in other stateswhere different methods are employed. If such a movement was oncestarted there would be found plenty of subject-matter for discussion, and plenty of opportunities to work for a betterment of conditions. Theauthor of this little book would be glad to give any aid in his power tosuch a movement, and to place the results of his twenty-five years ofexperience at the disposal of any parent, or parents' organization. 

The first efforts should be directed to inducing, or compelling, theso-called "Combined Schools" for the deaf throughout the United Statesto wholly segregate at least a small oral department from the manuallytaught pupils. The orally taught pupils should never come in contactduring their school life, either in the shops, dining rooms, playgrounds, or schoolrooms, with those pupils with whom finger spellingand signs are employed. All employees, whether superintendents, teachers, supervisors, teachers of trades, or servants, who have to dowith the orally taught pupils should be _compelled_ to use only speechand lip reading (and writing, if absolutely necessary) under penalty ofdismissal for failing to do so. Only by means of such segregation, andthe enforcement of speech as a universal medium of communication, canthe appropriations for oral work be made really productive of goodresults in what are now called "Combined Schools. " This can be done on asmall scale at the beginning, with the little entering beginners. Thenif all beginners are put into this oral department it will graduallygrow at the expense of the manual department, until, after a period ofeight or ten years, the entire school will have become oral. 

This is the only method of procedure by which satisfactory results inspeech teaching for practical purposes can be obtained in return for thegenerous appropriations that the states make. It has been fullydemonstrated by actual operation in the state of Pennsylvania, where thelargest school for the deaf in the world has in this manner been changedfrom a "Combined School" to a pure oral school. 

_All_ the deaf children in the State of Massachusetts are now taughtwholly by the oral method. If that polyglot and heterogeneouspopulation can be so treated, there is no state in the Union where thesame could not be done if there were the desire and the ambition to doit. 

In many states deaf children have been, either by definite statement, orby tacit understanding, exempted from the enforcement of the compulsoryeducation law. This is all wrong. They need the protection of thatexcellent law even more than the hearing child, and if the law forcompulsory education does not, in fact, apply to them, it should at oncebe amended to do so. 

XIX

DAY SCHOOLS

The parents are the ones most interested in this matter, and it isthrough their efforts alone that improvement can be brought about. InMassachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Missouri, and California, free publicoral day schools have been established. This movement has reached itshighest development in Wisconsin and Michigan. In Wisconsin there aretwenty-four such schools scattered throughout the state, and in Michiganfourteen. New schools are opened by the Board of Education underprescribed conditions upon the request of a certain number of parents ofdeaf children. Such a law should be on the statute books of every state, and will be when the parents of deaf children organize and demand it. 

XX

THE DEAF CHILD AT FIVE YEARS OF AGE

When the little child that has been deaf from infancy is five years ofage, he should be placed in a _purely oral school_ for the deaf, if sucha thing is possible. 

The child who has become deaf by illness or accident after speech hasbeen acquired, should be placed under experienced instruction by thespeech method _at once_. 

To quote once more from my little book of suggestions to physicians:

"If the proper school for the little hearing child of five did nothappen to exist in his immediate neighborhood, no one would think ofinsisting upon the necessity of sending the little one away to a distantboarding school. But that is what must be done in the case of the littledeaf child, if precious and irrecoverable years are not to be lost. Itis often a difficult matter to persuade a mother to sacrifice her ownpersonal happiness and comfort in having the little child with her, andto look far enough into the future to see that a true and unselfish lovefor the child requires her to entrust him to the care of others duringthose early and crucial years. "

XXI

SCHOOLS FOR THE HEARING AND PRIVATE GOVERNESSES

If no oral day or boarding school is available near at hand, the mothershould have the far-sighted love that is unselfish, and the courage topart with her little five-year-old child during the months of the schoolyear, and place him in some one of the distant schools where he can liveand be taught in a purely oral environment. There are two alternativesto this, each of which is sometimes attempted, but both are undesirable. First the mother not infrequently attempts to have her child educated inthe schools for hearing children. This is very unsatisfactory and evendangerous, for if persisted in it results in wholly inadequate progress, uneven development, bad speech, irretrievable loss of time, and often ina complete nervous breakdown. This may not come for some years, but thenervous system, once undermined by the excessive strain of trying tokeep up under impossible conditions, can never be fully repaired. Hereis what a _partially_ deaf woman writes of her experience as a child:

"When I was three and one-half years old scarlet fever left me almosttotally deaf. My father was a physician. He was urged to send me to aschool for the deaf, but his medical training told him that what wasneeded was association with speaking children, if I were to retain myspeech, for at that time the oral method was unknown in our state. So Iwent to school with hearing children. Unless you have been deaf, youwill not understand the misery in this statement. A little, lonely deafchild, I went to a public school, hearing practically nothing of theteachers' instructions or the pupils' recitations. Of the torture ofthat deaf childhood I will not speak. You all know how cruel childrenmay be, and a deaf child among hearing children often suffers untoldtorments. "

The second alternative is to seek some person who will teach the childin his own home. This, too, is very unsatisfactory, and involves loss oftime and opportunity that can never be recovered. 

In the first place, the beginning years of a deaf child's educationallife are the most important of all. They are crucial. It is then herequires the highest skill, the greatest experience, and the mostperfect conditions. The best teachers can seldom, if ever, be induced toteach a single child in its home. Usually these teachers are more orless inferior. But even the best teacher in the world cannot do for alittle deaf child in his home what she could accomplish for him in awell-organized and properly conducted school. 

Neither the intellect nor the character of the deaf child can be assuccessfully developed, after five years of age, by a private teacher inhis home as in a good school. 

The following elements are essential for the highest educational welfareof a deaf child:

_First. _ The stimulus and incentive of association and competitivecompanionship. 

_Second. _ The contact with more than one mind and more than one speaker. 

_Third. _ The avoidance of becoming dependent upon some one as aninterpreter, and the cultivation of independence and self-reliancethrough constant practice with various teachers. 

_Fourth. _ A fully equipped and trained organization, providing acomplete and uninterrupted education under one head. 

_Fifth. _ Regularity of life, and the subordination of all livingconditions to the highest educational advantage (a thing utterlyincompatible with home conditions). 

These most necessary conditions are not possible of attainment throughprivate instruction in the home. The child who is kept at home and givenprivate instruction too often grows up to be timid, self-distrustful, and unfitted to cope with the difficulties and oppositions of theworld. He falls an easy prey to temptation and is quickly discouraged byobstacles. Very often he is selfish, narrow, and overbearing. Not havingthose about him of his own age and with the same desires, he has becomeaccustomed to having people yield to his whims and fancies as childplaymates would not yield. He is more or less excluded from the playsand pleasures of childhood. All those about him have an advantage overhim. 

On the other hand, the tendencies of the school-bred child are to besimple, natural, and childlike. His inclination to moodiness andsuspiciousness is much less. He is happier. He becomes self-reliant, independent, and respectful of the rights of others. He is less petulantand more obedient. The wisest parents do not educate their hearingchildren at home, nor should they attempt it with a deaf child. 

XXII

IMPORTANCE OF THE BEGINNING

I wish to lay very special stress upon the necessity _at the beginning_of the most expert and experienced instruction that is attainable. Ifcircumstances make it impossible to give to the child the best _all_ thetime, then he should have the best at the start rather than later. Everyeffort and every sacrifice that are ever going to be made for thechild's sake should be at the beginning of his school training, and notdelayed till he is older. The years from five to eight or ten willdetermine his future success. If he has poor teaching during these earlyyears, even the best teaching later will not be able to make up the lossentirely. But if he has good teaching during the first few years, thenless expert teaching later cannot do him as much harm as it otherwisewould. The early years are his most crucial period, and the best effortsshould be expended then instead of when he is twelve or fourteen. 

XXIII

AVOID THE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED TEACHER

Between the ages of five and ten avoid the young and inexperiencedteacher and the amateur as you would the plague. Unfortunately, the ideais prevalent that _any one_ can teach a little child, but that it takesexperience to teach the older pupils. This is a disastrous fallacy. Young and inexperienced women are too often quite ready to assume thegreat responsibility of teaching a little deaf child. They rush in whereangels might well fear to tread. Unfortunately, parents, and even schoolsuperintendents, are often too ready to permit them to do this dangerousthing. 

XXIV

ON ENTERING SCHOOL

Through the courtesy of the _Volta Review_, in which her articleappeared, and of the author, Miss Eleanor B. Worcester, a teacher of thedeaf for many years, and at one time the principal of a school, I amable to include the following very sensible and valuable advice for theguidance of mothers when their children enter school. 

THE FIRST YEAR AT SCHOOL

BY ELEANOR B. WORCESTER

At last the time has come when you feel that it is best for your boy tostudy with other children. And since your own town does not offer him asuitable opportunity, it is necessary to send the little fellow to oneof the well-known boarding schools, where trained and wise men and womenare devoting their thought and energy to giving every advantage ofeducation, comfort, and happiness to the little people under their care. 

You have already decided, after much thought and the writing of manyletters--perhaps after a visit to the school you incline to most--justwhere it is best that the child shall go. 

You have studied carefully all the directions about clothing given inthe school catalogue, and have made sure that every little blouse orstocking has its owner's name written or sewed fast on it, and that allthe small garments are in perfect order and ready for use. 

But have you thought how your own attitude toward this change in yourboy's life is unconsciously preparing him either to rebel against andfear school, or to look forward to going there as one of the mostdelightful and interesting events of his life?

I know that it is impossible for you to avoid dreading the day when yourchild must go among strangers, but I beg you not to let him see whatyour feeling is. It will take all your resolution and all your courageto wear not only a cheerful face, but a happy one; but you must makeyour boy feel that a very delightful time is coming. 

If you go about the necessary preparations as you might if he were goingto the show or on a visit, he will enter into the spirit of things withenthusiasm; but if you once let him find you crying over his packing hewill immediately jump to the conclusion that some dreadful thing is inprospect, and will be entirely prepared to be frightened at being leftat school, and to break your heart by clinging to you and begging to gohome again. And, more than this, he will be far more likely to behomesick. 

So, since you know it is best for him to be in school, and that it isthe only possible road to happiness and usefulness, why not lead him toanticipate the going; to look forward to it as a treat, and to feel thatto be a schoolboy is really the great end of existence?

One of the first steps in this direction will be to help him understanda little what kind of a place he is bound for. 

Very likely the school you have decided on publishes an illustratedcatalogue, and weeks before school opens begin to show him the picturesof the school buildings and grounds, and make him understand that on acertain day in September, which you mark on the calendar with brightcrayon, you and he will go there. Let him see one of the little whitebeds where he will sleep after you return home, the sunny dining roomwhere he will eat his morning porridge and his Sunday ice cream; theplayground full of rollicksome youngsters, with whom he will seesaw andplay tag by and by, and the busy schoolroom, where so many delightfuland interesting things are sure to happen. 

Talk about all these things often and brightly and you will find thatschool has become a most desirable and fascinating place, and that everynight there will be a great satisfaction in climbing on a chair toscratch off from the calendar another day done before the joy of goingthere. 

Then you can buy such delightful things to be put into that waitingtrunk--things often to be looked at, but never to be used till thatwonderful place is reached--long red and blue pencils, with rubbers onthe ends; boxes of writing paper, all gay with pictures and exactlyright for the first letters home; a foot rule, and, if you are a trulybrave mother, a real jackknife to sharpen the same red and blue pencilsand add to the joy of living. 

It is absorbing work, too, to mark them all with one's name, so they maynever be mistaken for any other little boy's property, and to make aplace for a new toy or two, though if you are wise you will not buy manyplaythings now, but will save them to send later, one by one, by parcelpost, to be received with a joy it is a pity you cannot be there tosee, it will be so out of proportion to any other pleasure you couldgive by such simple means. 

Of course, you must have some kodak pictures taken--ever so many ofthem--showing the family, the house, and the pets, as well as the boyhimself. These are to be kept, too, to go in letters. They will be notonly very precious possessions, but if they are labeled carefully theywill be extremely useful in the classroom when your boy begins to learnto speak the names of the people at home. 

Since they are to be used for this double purpose, be sure that eachmember of the family group is very distinctly marked, or the names ofAunt Mary and sister Helen may get hopelessly mixed in the boy's mind!

Finally, the last little garment and the last package is in the trunk, the last day is scratched off the calendar, and the boy himself is onthe train. And now let me tell you something that you will notbelieve--that you will even resent, but which is perfectly true, andwhich I hope will comfort you a little when you say good-by to theboy--and that is this: it really is very unusual for a little child fromfive to eight years old to be homesick at school. There are so manydistractions, so many new and curious things to see, so many interestingthings to do, and there are so many other children all friendly and allhappy, that even if your boy cries when you leave him, the probabilitiesare high that before you reach the station he will be playing--shyly oruproariously, as temperament may decide--but certainly happily, withsome new-found friend. 

One of the most delightful things about a school for deaf children isthe way all the other pupils welcome, pet, and look out for a newcomer. Every one makes much of him, and it would be hard indeed to be lonelylong in the midst of so much attention and friendliness. 

And now a word about letters. 

Before you sent the boy to school I hope you didn't fail to teach him torecognize the written names of the different members of the family, sothat he might be sure to understand whom his first letters came from. And don't forget that he will be eager for letters! Too many mothersfeel that it is useless to write to their children during their firstyear away from them. They are so sure that no word from them can beunderstood that they content themselves with sending inquiries to theproper authorities, and an occasional picture postcard to the childrenthemselves, and fail to realize how soon their little boy or girl graspsthe fact that the other children have real letters in envelopes, andthat these come from home, or how sharp a disappointment it is when dayafter day goes by and brings them nothing. 

If you could see, as I have seen, a letter, so worn that it was crackedon all its folds and dingy with much handling, carried day after dayinside a little blouse, or guimpe, and put under the pillows everynight, you would understand a little what those pieces of paper, coveredwith very imperfectly understood characters, but carrying love andremembrance from home, mean, even before the children can read them. And very soon, if you are an observant mother, your child will really beable to read them. 

For example, your boy's first letter may be something like this:

 "DEAR MAMMA:

 "I am well. I love you. HARRY. "

When you answer it you might say, with the certainty that every wordwould be understood:

 "DEAR HARRY:

 "Mamma loves you. Papa is well. Mamma and Papa love you. 

 "Good-by. MAMMA. "

Not a very satisfactory letter, do you say? Perhaps not to you, but mostdelightful and understandable to the little boy to whom it is written. And if a little later you follow it with another containing one of thekodak pictures of the cat, with "Tommy" written under it, accompanyingsuch a note as this, not only your little boy, but his teacher willbless you:

 "DEAR HARRY:

 "Mamma is well. Papa is well. Mamma and Papa love you. Tommy loves you, too. Tommy is the cat. Tommy wants to see you. 

 "Good-by. MAMMA. "

I have written these two notes not as models to be copied, but to showyou how with a little thought and care you may ring the changes onalmost every sentence that your boy learns; and make use of every newword, giving him a great deal of pleasure and helping to fix the phrasesin his mind and to make him realize that they are really valuableadditions to his means of communication. But I do not mean that youshould confine your letters entirely to words and sentences that thechild already knows. In fact, new expressions, if they are short andsimple, and if the main part of your letter is made up of things thechild understands at once, will add very much to the interest of yourletter. He will be eager to know what the strange words mean, and thenew nouns, verbs, and adjectives will go immediately to swell hisvocabulary. 

Like any child just learning to talk, your little boy will at first usenouns, when later he will use pronouns, so in your earliest letters tohim you will be surer of making yourself understood if you do the same. Probably, too, with the exception of two or three sentences like "I amwell. I love you, " you will notice that all his statements are writtenin the past tense, and that will be a guide to you to confine your ownremarks to the past, for the most part, till you notice that he hasbegun to use the future and the present himself. Watch his letterscarefully and adapt your own language forms to his. 

There are two things that, as a general rule, I would advise you not towrite about, and these are any illnesses in the family and--that supremejoy of school life--the box you are planning to send. 

My reasons for this taboo are that even very little children are oftenmade unhappy and anxious, sometimes for days, if they know there issickness at home, while in the second place boxes are so often delayedthat they become the source of much disturbance of mind when theexpressman fails to bring them. 

I knew a little girl who watched every delivery for a week and criedafter every one because the box her mother had promised her did notappear. So let illness and boxes go unmentioned till you can writesomething like this, "Papa was sick last week. He is well now. He goesto the office every day. " And after the box has had time to reach itsdestination you can say, "Mamma sent a box to you Wednesday. She put twohandkerchiefs, some new shoes, six oranges, and some money in the box. Papa gave the money to you. "

If you are like most mothers, before many weeks have gone by you will beeager to visit your boy and see for yourself how he is getting on;whether he is really as happy as the letters from school assure you heis; what he is learning in class, and whether he has blankets enough onhis bed and sugar enough on his oatmeal. 

But before the letter announcing the day of your arrival is posted oryour ticket is bought, sit down by the fire and think the matter over. 

You have confidence in the school, else you would never have sent yourboy there; and you have been told repeatedly either that the littlefellow is happy and well or, it may be, that he was rather homesick atfirst, but has now settled down to a very comfortable and contentedstate of mind and is doing well in class. 

Now, if you go to see him too soon after he has left home there willreally be a good deal more danger that the boy will be homesick afteryou leave him than there was when you took him to school in September, even if he has been quite happy up to the time of your visit. 

In the first place, he will think, drawing his conclusions from visitsthat he may have made before, that school is over and that you havecome to take him home. So it will be a great surprise and shock when yougo away without him. And in any case, after the separation of someweeks, his love for you will make him want to be with you, and he willreally suffer when you say good-by. 

So, if I were you, I would wait till after the Christmas holidays beforegoing for my visit. By that time he will be fully settled in his newlife and will look on it as an established part of existence. He willknow from observation that other mothers come for a little while andthen go home again without taking their children with them, and hisadvance in understanding will make it much easier to explain to him thatyour visit is temporary and will not make any radical change in his ownlife. 

The delay will mean a good deal of self-sacrifice for you, but may verypossibly save your boy from a sharp attack of homesickness, while laterin the year this danger will usually have disappeared, and your visitwill bring nothing but pleasure to you both and will help to makeschool what you want it to be--a place where all sorts of delightfulthings are constantly sure to happen. 

XXV

DURING THE SCHOOL PERIOD

But the opportunities and obligations of the parents of deaf children toaid in their education by no means cease when the children enter school. 

Throughout the entire period of school life, and even after theirchildren leave school, the parents can be of very great assistance tothem. During the time that the school is in session, if the child isaway from home, the parents should write not less than once a week, andoftener if possible. These letters should contain all the littlehappenings at home, no matter how insignificant and uninteresting theymay seem. If these things are expressed in simple language, using shortsentences and common words, the letters will be one of the mostefficient means of aiding the children to an ability to read, that theteacher possesses. The child is full of eager curiosity to know thesmallest details of the familiar home life. He will exert his mind moreto dig out the meaning of the language of home letters than he will tounderstand a story in a reader. Miss Worcester has suggested one or twolittle letters that would do during the first half year at school. Bythe beginning of the second year it would be helpful if the letters readsomething like this:

 "MY DEAR BOY:

 "We got your nice letter. Thank you for it. We always like to know what you do at school. We like to know the names of your schoolmates. We are glad when you tell us about your books and your teachers. Mother, Tom, Jane and I are well. We talk about you often. We are glad you can go to school. A cat frightened the hens. The hens ran. The cat was naughty. I drove the cat away. I think the cat wanted to eat the little chickens. 

 "Tom hid behind the door. He jumped out quickly. He frightened Jane. She screamed. He laughed. Jane cried. Mother scolded Tom because he made Jane cry. Tom said Jane was a baby. Jane said Tom was a bad boy. Then Jane laughed. She forgave Tom. Tom said he was sorry. 

 "We all love you. 

 "Good-by. 

 "Your loving "FATHER. "

Each year the letters can be a little more grown up and they shouldalways be frequent. 

XXVI

DURING VACATION

When vacation time comes and the children come home for the summer, thehome folks will probably have some trouble at first in understandingtheir imperfect speech. Do not be discouraged. The speech will steadilyimprove from year to year, and you will soon be able to comprehend it, even when it is very faulty. But do not accept from the child anythingexcept the best speech he is capable of. When the boy first arrives youwill, probably, not know just how much to expect of him. To begin with, it will do him no harm to ask him to repeat what he says, even if youreally did understand him the first time. He will probably speak muchmore distinctly the second time than he did the first, and you will seethat you can demand of him more than you at first thought he could do. He will not be discouraged by being asked to repeat. He is used to it. The price of good speech, like the price of liberty, is eternalvigilance. During the school period, teachers and parents should giveunremitting attention to demanding of the children, _every time theyspeak_, the best enunciation of which they are at that time capable. 

If you do not understand the boy, or he does not understand you, do notlet him resort to gestures, nor use them yourself. Give him pencil andpaper, if necessary. It will not be necessary often or long, and eachday occasions of difficulty will grow fewer. 

Provide some useful and helpful occupation for the child for at least apart of each day. Do not let him play at random all the time. Continue acertain regularity of life in the matter of meals and getting up andgoing to bed. Insist upon respectful behavior and good manners. He hasthese demanded of him at school. Do not let him return in the fallhaving lost much that he had gained during the preceding year. 

When he is at home keep him in touch with the activities and the topicsof discussion in the family circle. Do not let him withdraw or feel shutout. This will take a good deal of effort and self-denial and patience, but in the long run it will repay the parents. Failure to do this willeventually bring sorrow to all concerned. Train the other children to dotheir share of this. Insist upon their telling the deaf one their plansand their doings. Unless some care is taken he will see the others goingwithout knowing where or why, he will sometimes lose pleasures becausehe did not hear the talk that was going on around him and no one thoughtto tell him. This has a tendency to make him bitter and unsocial. 

From the very beginning of spoken intercourse with the deaf child thegreatest care should be taken to speak NATURALLY to him. Avoid entirelyall exaggeration of lip movement and mouth opening. Speak a littleslowly, perhaps, and always distinctly, but never with facialcontortions and waving hands. The aim of his oral training is to enablehim to understand the ordinary speech of people when they speak to him, and to do this he requires an immense amount of practice, just as thehearing child requires a great deal of practice for years before he canunderstand what people are saying to him. If you speak to him in adifferent way from that employed when speaking to others he will learnto understand that, but not your ordinary manner of speaking. He willalso imitate it himself. The Chinaman speaks and understands only"Pidgin" English because only "Pidgin" English has been used incommunicating with him. If people had spoken to the Chinaman as they doto other people he would have gradually acquired good English. 

So it is with the deaf child. If you want him to gradually learn tounderstand the ordinary intercourse of life, you must exercise him in itfor years. You must not expect him to get much at first, any more thanyou expect the baby to understand to start with. But each month he willgain more, and by the time he is sixteen or seventeen he will have verynearly overtaken his hearing brother. But if you always address him witha yawning mouth and flopping tongue and lips, and use deaf-mute Englishto him, he will progress in his understanding and use of that, but it isnot what you wish him to acquire. Be patient, be gentle, be untiring andunremitting in your efforts, but BE NATURAL. _Keep your eyes on his eyesand speak only when his gaze is upon your face. _

Before closing I ought to say that (more is the pity) there are manypersons who live by trading upon the ignorance and credulity of theunfortunate. The deaf and the friends of the deaf fall an easy prey tothe advertisements of quack remedies, ear drums, etc. , that are alwaysuseless and sometimes actually dangerous. The American MedicalAssociation has had the courage to issue a pamphlet in which these fakecures are described and exposed, and every deaf person, and parent of adeaf child, should have one of these pamphlets. The title is "DeafnessCure Fakes, " and can be obtained by writing to the American MedicalAssociation, 535 North Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois. 

Any one who has read these pages will easily see that the suggestionsare all aimed to secure for the deaf a treatment similar in kind, thoughsomewhat different in degree, to that accorded the normal hearingperson. The tendency has been to differentiate the deaf too much fromthe hearing. By adopting the procedure of pure oralism, effectivelyapplied under _real oral conditions_, uncontaminated, during theeducational period from five to twenty years of age, by finger spellingor signs, the deaf will be far more fully restored to a normal positionin the social and industrial world than they can ever be by the silentmethods at present so largely used during their most impressionableyears. 

XXVII

SOME NOTS

Do not be downcast. 

Deafness does not, necessarily, bring dumbness. 

Do not consider the deaf child as different from other children. 

Do not cease talking to him. 

Do not speak with exaggerated facial movements. 

Do not exempt him from the duties and tasks and obedience properlydemanded of all children. 

Do not let him grow selfish. 

Do not let him grow indifferent. 

Do not be in haste. 

Do not show impatience.