What The Mother Of A Deaf Child Ought To Know - free ebook by John Dutton Wright

JOHN DUTTON WRIGHT

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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

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I

While deafness is a serious misfortune, it is neither a sin, nor a disgrace, to be ashamed of. It is a handicap, to be sure, but one to be bravely and cheerfully faced, for it does not destroy the chances for happiness and success. It is cause for neither discouragement nor despair. It will demand patient devotion and courageous effort to overcome the disadvantage, but what mother is not willing to show these in large measure for her child when the future holds assurance of comfort and usefulnes

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II

First of all, something like an inventory should be taken of the faculties possessed by the child which he can use in working out his problem. Has he good sight, normal smell, taste, muscular sense, and memory? To what extent is his hearing impaired? Is there any possibility of restoring it to normal acuteness, or of improving it, or of preventing any further impairment? The completeness with which these questions can be answered depends, to a considerable extent, on his age and his physical con

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III

Let it be assumed that when the child is fifteen months old it is fairly well established that his hearing is somewhat below normal. Between fifteen months and two years of age all that is said in this section will apply equally to the child who is feared to be totally deaf and to one who is known to possess some sound perception, though not a normal degree of hearing. For, until he is old enough to respond to more complete and accurate tests, we must not give up the idea that he may have a suff

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IV

The hearing baby babbles because he gets some pleasure from the sounds, and also because he desires to imitate the sounds of speech he hears around him. He has his attention called constantly to sound. The sense of vibration is not as strong nor as instructive as that of sound, but if the attention of the child is early called to it, a watchfulness for vibration from within himself as well as from without, can be aroused, and a sensitiveness developed that would not have come as early, if at all

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V

By the time he is two years old he has gained maturity and grasp enough to play many little educational games with his mother and his little brothers and sisters, or playmates. These games should be calculated to develop his various faculties, his powers of observation, memory, and concentration. To develop a faculty is really to train the brain . As a matter of fact, we see and hear and taste and smell and feel with our brains. The eye of a two-year-old child is practically as perfect an optica

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VI

The tendency of the deaf child is to grow up with less development of lungs and of the imagination than hearing children. In order to overcome this tendency the child must be encouraged and taught to play games and use toys that will exercise the lungs and develop the power of imaginative 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 set whirling by blowing lustily; also the rubber balloon toys, ev

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VII

This can be greatly helped by early use on the part of the child of colored modeling wax to reproduce objects and animals, and to construct models 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 a wonderful implement for constructive play on the part of the child. Whole villages of farms, fields, and forests, ponds and brooks, roads and railroa

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VIII

But, as soon as the mother finds her little child sufficiently mature to benefit by the sense training described above, whether it be at twenty or, as is more likely, at from twenty-four to thirty months, she can begin to make a more complete and accurate determination of the degree of his deafness, for now she can establish a system of responses on the part of the child that will show her when he perceives the sounds she uses in her tests. In order to be certain that the little one knows what s

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IX

If any ability to perceive sounds is found, every effort should be made to lead the child to use it, and as the most essential use of hearing is in the comprehension of spoken language, the principal effort should be made along that line. Take three objects, the names of which are short, with the principal vowels quite easily distinguished. A little toy street car, a cap, and a toy sheep, would do nicely to begin with, as the three words, "car," "cap," and "sheep," are not easily confused. Place

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X

In this effort to develop the hearing, however, the necessity must not be forgotten of also training the brain to associate ideas with what the eye sees on the lips when words are spoken. In the case of the very slightly deaf child, this visual training is not quite so important as the auricular training, but when there is much deafness it is the more important of the two. The comprehension of much language can be given to the little deaf child by constantly talking just as any mother does to he

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XI

And now that the little one is two or three years old, it may be well to say a few words about his general training in character and habits. There is a strong, and a not unnatural tendency to maintain an attitude toward the deaf child that differs from that maintained by sensible mothers toward their other children. They often set up a different standard of conduct and of obligation for the afflicted child. His brothers and sisters are taught to always defer to his wishes; even to the extent of

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XII

Between the ages of two and four years all the games and exercises heretofore described can continue to be used, together with others increasingly difficult and complicated, as the child's mind develops and his powers of observation, attention, and memory increase. Take very special care that he learns all the childhood games that other children know and enjoy. Devote yourself more to him in this respect than you would in the case of another child. Encourage the neighbors' children to come and p

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XIII

Till the child is at least four years old, the proper place for him is at home, and if he must be sent to one of the large public schools for the 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 help her by visiting as many schools for the deaf as possible. There are about a hundred and fifty such schools in the United States and eight in Canada. They vary in size, in character, and in methods of instruction emplo

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XIV

Up to this point it has been assumed that deafness occurred before the age of two years, and before the child had begun to speak. In cases where, through accident or illness, impairment of hearing has come after the child has begun to talk, the mother should bend all her efforts upon keeping the speech of her child. The younger the child, the more difficult is the task. Without the greatest vigilance and increasing attention, the speech of a little child who has become deaf will fade rapidly awa

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XV

All that has been said about training the little deaf child to read the lip movements and associate them with the names of things and of actions, will apply also to the little boy who has suddenly been made deaf, after speech has been learned. Be careful that he is looking at you 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 may have to repeat things to him very often at first, but do not permit any sign of i

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XVI

The question of what is "school age" for a deaf child is answered very differently by different people. Most of the state institutions for the deaf in the United States, Canada, and Europe will not admit children younger than six years of age. Seven years is still the age of admission in some institutions, but the tendency is to lower the age limit. In some schools children of five are admitted, in a few those as young as four, and in two or three small schools babies of two and three are receiv

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XVII

It should be possible for every taxpayer in every state who has a deaf child and who has not the means or the wish to place that child in a private school, to have the child educated in a free public school as completely by the speech method as his hearing children are educated by that method. He should not be compelled to send his child out of the state or else subject him to the influence of signs and finger spelling, with the probability that he will leave school a deaf mute. Unfortunately, i

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XVIII

Let some parent in each locality make it his or her business to get the names and addresses of all other parents of deaf children in the vicinity. Induce them to come together some evening and choose a chairman and an executive committee of three. Let these four people make a point of studying the education of the deaf as conducted in the most advanced communities. Let the executive committees of the several local associations get together once or twice a year for a sort of state convention of p

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XIX

The parents are the ones most interested in this matter, and it is through their efforts alone that improvement can be brought about. In Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Missouri, and California, free public oral day schools have been established. This movement has reached its highest development in Wisconsin and Michigan. In Wisconsin there are twenty-four such schools scattered throughout the state, and in Michigan fourteen. N

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XX

When the little child that has been deaf from infancy is five years of age, he should be placed in a purely oral school for the deaf, if such a thing is possible. The child who has become deaf by illness or accident after speech has been acquired, should be placed under experienced instruction by the speech 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 not happen to exist in his immediate neigh

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XXI

If no oral day or boarding school is available near at hand, the mother should have the far-sighted love that is unselfish, and the courage to part with her little five-year-old child during the months of the school year, and place him in some one of the distant schools where he can live and be taught in a purely oral environment. There are two alternatives to this, each of which is sometimes attempted, but both are undesirable. First the mother not infrequently attempts to have her child educat

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XXII

I wish to lay very special stress upon the necessity at the beginning of the most expert and experienced instruction that is attainable. If circumstances make it impossible to give to the child the best all the time, then he should have the best at the start rather than later. Every effort and every sacrifice that are ever going to be made for the child's sake should be at the beginning of his school training, and not delayed till he is older. The years from five to eight or ten will determine h

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XXIII

Between the ages of five and ten avoid the young and inexperienced teacher and the amateur as you would the plague. Unfortunately, the idea is prevalent that any one can teach a little child, but that it takes experience to teach the older pupils. This is a disastrous fallacy. Young and inexperienced women are too often quite ready to assume the great responsibility of teaching a little deaf child. They rush in where angels might well fear to tread. Unfortunately, parents, and even school superi

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XXIV

Through the courtesy of the Volta Review , in which her article appeared, and of the author, Miss Eleanor B. Worcester, a teacher of the deaf for many years, and at one time the principal of a school, I am able to include the following very sensible and valuable advice for the guidance of mothers when their children enter school. At last the time has come when you feel that it is best for your boy to study with other children. And since your own town does not offer him a suitable opportunity,

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XXV

But the opportunities and obligations of the parents of deaf children to aid in their education by no means cease when the children enter school. Throughout the entire period of school life, and even after their children leave school, the parents can be of very great assistance to them. During the time that the school is in session, if the child is away from home, the parents should write not less than once a week, and oftener if possible. These letters should contain all the little happenings a

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XXVI

When vacation time comes and the children come home for the summer, the home folks will probably have some trouble at first in understanding their imperfect speech. Do not be discouraged. The speech will steadily improve 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 anything except the best speech he is capable of. When the boy first arrives you will, probably, not know just how much to expect of him. To begin with, i

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XXVII

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 properly demanded of all children. Do not let him grow selfish. Do not let him grow indifferent. Do not be in haste. Do not show impatience....

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