St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-01
BUT TWO SENSES LEFT.
A Child Who Can Neither See
Speak Nor Hear.

Boston Advertiser.
BY far the most interesting patient
now at the Jamaica Plain kindergarten
for the blind is Willie Elizabeth Robin,
the six-year-old Texas girl, who can
neither see, hear nor speak. The child
has been at the kindergarten little
over month, having been admitted on
Dec. 20.
But in this short period of time graft
flying, not to say wonderful, progress
has been made in her case by her
teacher. Miss Effie j. Thayer. Miss
Thayer, who has sole charge of the
child so far as instruction is concerned,
was formerly at the school for deaf
mutes in Mystic, Conn.,, where she
taught for a year with great success.
She was specially engaged to come 10
the Jamaica Plain institution to take
charge of the little ROBIN girl.
To reporter Miss Thayer spoke most
Interestingly of the progress which she
has made in short months time with
the sadly afflicted child. The teacher
devoted her first week at the kinder
garten to getting acquainted so far as
possible with the child. Willie is a
very bright child, and, although in the
six years of her life she had never re-
ceived any instruction, she was by 10
the great unseen world about her. Will
lies powers of perception and imitation
are very great. As all illustration of
this, Miss Thayer a day or two ago
found the child making up her own bed.
Willie had often watched ut becomes
very natural to speak in this way of the
bright childD her teacher busted with the
same duty in her own room.
Willie was given her first lesson on
Dec. 81. and she has already learned
twelve words. The story of the first
steps in the child'S mental training
how she was brought to know that OBJ
estiug. Short, simple words like hat
and ''fan." names of objects with which
the child was familiar, were first
taught her. The objects themselves
were given her, and then their names
were spelled out with the chId's fin
gers. 1t required irfnite patience, but
at last there came time when the child
would sometimes spell the name of the
object of her own accord. Aud then the
first great step in advance was gained.
The child spelled out chat for the
first time as she was on the point of
being taken out for walk. She had
been dressed for the walk, but her hat
was withheld. Willie was eager for the
walk, and reached out vainly for her
hat. 1t was not given her, but she was
coaXed to spell the word hat" which
she had been assisted to do so many
times before. 1t was half-hOur's strug-
gle, but at last the impatient child made
the "h' and the "a, !" and the "t.'' 1t
was victory, indeed. The child's hat
went on her head in twinkling. and
the walk followed, An interesting
point in this experiment was that the
Il, \ In In a,
hold out her hand for the hat, as much
as to say that the first letter would do as
we'll as the complete word itself. In
the same way Willie will be content
with making the "f'' instead of
all three letters when she wants
her fan.
Milk is another word that the child
has been taught. She is required to
spell it out every morning at breakfast
before the liquid is poured upon her
oatmeal. She also spells out ''bootS"
when they are put on her feet, and
again when they are taken off. One of
| the words which Willie has heen taught
| is water" She has been accustomed
all her life to signify thirst by closing
| her hands tightly and crossing her
arms and striking her chest. But now
! she is encouraged to spell the word
| water when she wants drink.
Willie has learned the following
words: Fan, hat, ring. water, bread,
candy, pin, paper, boots, wagon, cubes
! (the raised letter blocks with which
she loves TO play and milk. Within
ten days after instruction had begun
she recognized that objects had names.
1t was with the cuDes that the very
first step was made in this direction.
The child was taught the letter of
cube. and so came to associate it with
the object itself.
As has been said, Willie, although so
sorely afflicted, is very bright child.
/! She weaves little mats and models in
clay few simple objects with which
she is familiar. When she came to the
kindergarten a little over month ago
she was like "a little steer" in her
nervousness and Impotence. Now she
is quiet child, and is beginning to
show affection for those about her, a
quality IN which she seemed to lie
| wholly deficient when she first came to
the kindergarten.
| Willie is to be physiological study.