Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-30
READING HUMAN LIPS.

The Wonderful Skill in Lip Reading
Shown by Two Deaf Girls.
The Convention of Teachers of the Deaf
and Dumb was resumed yesterday at the
New York Institution, Lexington avenue
and East Sixty-seventh street, says the
Herald of the 2Sth inst. AT the morning
and afternoon sessions number of papers
were read on lip reading and methods of
instruction for the deaf and dumb. A
resolution was passed. on motion of the
Rev. Frederick I'll. Wines, that the atten-
tion of wealthy and benevolent persons
be called to the fact that the improvement
of the condition of the deaf and dumb
would be materially turthered by the
establishment of a school for instructing
teachers in articulation.
At the evening session paper was read
by Miss Fletcher, of Boston, on "News-
paper Reading.'' In this paper Miss
Fletcher set forth that she had found it
an excellent idea to allow the pupils to
read extracts from the newspapers in
class, and ask questions concerning what
they had read. This plan was commended
as an excellent one by the Rev. Mr..
Wines, Principal Greenberger and others.
The latter, however, suggested that it
might be as well when newspapers were
thus read tOuse the New York newspa-
pers in lieu of those publications issued
i'll Boston. Miss Keeler, of the New York
Institution. next read paper on ''Speech
Reading" and Miss Wooster, of the Clark
Institute, described the methods of lip
reading adopted in her classes. Mr..
Greenberger, of the New York Institution,
then described the case of a pupil
who slept with a servant girl. The
two were heard talking together in the
night. AS there was no light in the room,
it was evident that the conversation was
not carried on through the medium of lip
reading. Inquiry was made, and it was
discovered that the pupil was in the habit
of putting one hand upon the girls chest
and the other upon her throat, and ascer-
tanning ay the vibrations of sound the
words she uttered. Some interesting ex-
hibitions of the wonderful aptness of deaf
mute pupils followed. A pupil of the
New York Institution, a comely girl of
16 years, was called to the platform.
Although deaf to the loudest noises, she
readily understood by watching the mo-
tiOns of the lips whatever was said to her.
Mr.. Greenberger addressed her with his
face turned full toward her, then
with the face sideways, and next
from distance of some fifteen yards
away. She was enabled in each instance
to understand his words. which were
uttered in the ordinary conversational
way both as to rapidity and pitch. He
subsequently read passages from Roman
history, which she repeated after him
with accuracy. Even when the unusual
and difficult remark, "Ohio is the see-saw
State,H was addressed to her, she readily
decIphered the words. A girl of 10 years,
pupil OF Miss Fuller. of the Horace
Mann School, of Boston, displayed similar
proficiency in lip reading, and the two
pupils next held an animated conversa-
tion with each other, utterly oblivious of
loud noises which were made behind their
backs to illustrate their utter lack of
hearing. "A noticeable feature of the
voices of the pupils was that they both
had peculiar languishing, wailing tone.
The teachers state that they expect to
conquer even this peculiaritY in time.