Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-07
LEARNINGTO SPEAK
HOW CHILDRENTBoRN DEAF MAY
ACQUIRE THE ABILITY.
Using the Eyes Instead Of the Ears
Plan for Mare General
Education.

Galusha A Grow of Pennsylvania has
successfully fathered many worthy causes
since he entered Congress in 1851. Today
he Is bending his energies in the interest of
cause than which there could be none
more worthy from the standpoint of hui
mainly.
A number of years ago 1t was discovered
that 1t was possible to teach children to
talk who were born without hearing, and
who were also supposed to be devoid of
the capability of speech. This discovery
led to further experiments until 1t was
practically demonstrated that If such af-
h1cted children were taken in infancy they
could be taught not only to speak, but also
to understand the speech of others simply
by observing the motion of the lips; also
that this faculty could be developed in
sufficient time to allow such children to
enter the public schools provided for hear
ing children at the ordinary school age
1T was found by experience they succeeded
equally, and in some cases better than
children who could hear.
With this practical demonstration as a
basis, Representative Grow, who is chair
man OF the committee on education of the
House of Representatives. proposes to place
this new method in the hands of competent
instructors in all sections of the country
and to this end he has introduced bill in
the House of Representatives, which has
received the unanimous. Endorsement of his
committee. This bill provides $4,000 to de-
fray the expenses of sending one competent
teacher from each state and territory to the
Philadelphia Home for Teaching Articulate
Speech to Deaf Children, for sufficient
lergth of time, not to exceed six months
to acquire the methods which are there so
successfully practiced by the Garrett sis
tiers, who were the originators of the new
system.
Mr. Grow Is a mine Of interesting in
formation on the subject in which he is lust
now so deeply interested, and when once
started ne becomes most entertaining.
The Modern idea.
You must take these unfortunate little
tots as soon as they cut their teeth,'' he
began, If they are to have the full advan-
tage of this new training. The old idea that
children are born dumb as well as deaf has
been exploded. They do not talk when
born deaf simply because when their parents
ind out that they cannot hear they cease to
talk to them Under such treatment even
a child who could hear would never learn
to talk, much less a child who has to ac-
compllsh that feat through the eye alone.
Another curious fact" continued Mr.
Grow. sis that children who learn to talk
by sight never talk baby talk Baby talk
is the language of the hearing baby simply
because we grown folks think 1t is cum
ming to distort our words the minute we
begin to talk to thelbaby and the baby
very naturally initiates what it hears
In the past ages-tte' deaf were the VIC
TINS OF deliberate as well as ignorant
longer deliberately drowned. as in ancient
Rome. or exposed to die. as under the laws
OF Lycurgus. But they are still largely
sufferers from modified form Of the ig-
n 90 vI-hi oh for
the imbeciles, and now fails to realize that
they are able to learnIand do anything and
everything the hearing child can If they
arc given precisely the same opportunity
Learning ITO Talk.
when hearing child is learning to
talk the mother does not use motions to it
because 1T has not commenced to under
stand her language: but she repats over
and over again the pet names she calls it;
tells it again and again to say papa and
mamma, etc, until 1t learns to under
stand and then COPY her words. She is
quick to discover, encourage and correct it's
first attempt at articulation. 1t has been
proven by experience that If the attention
of the deaf child be directed to the mouth
win the same persistency, and If 1t be
talked to just the same by everyone who
is with 1t, it will learn the speech and lam
guage through the eye which the hearing
child learns through the ear Like the
hearing child. 1t has hereditary tendency
to talk and only needs the same opportu-
nifty to learn. No more motions should be
used with it than with the hearing child:
It's attention should always be guided to the
mouth of the speaker and concentrated
there Little by little it will begin to at
tach meaning to the words and sentences IT
sees, Just as a hearing child learns little
by little to attach meaning to the words
and sentences it hears.
THE names of objects mo " no fouob+ ,,,+t,
the objects, which is really the way hear
ing children learn them in their homes
When hearing child is learning to talk its
hearing gives it the advantage of every
word spoken in it's presence while the deaf
child only has the advantage of seeing the
mouth OF the person it happens to be look
ing at or who is talking to it. The diff
ference must be made up to the deaf child
by great amount of repetition Of the words
and the language 1T is being taught. Deaf
babies begin to say ma-ma-ma just as
nearing babies DO but as rule they are
not encouraged in repeating the word If
they We're and were properly guided to fur
Their articulation they would talk The or
binary practice, however, when an infant is
discovered to be deaf is to make no further
effort to teach 1t to talk or read the lips.
but Immediately to begin motions with it.
A Faulty System.
Just here begins the cruel system Of
training the deaf differently from the hear
outset Of life that they are peculiarly unlike
those around them. The truth is that It is
the faulty system Of training that makes
them different by depriving them, during
their infancy, before school age, of the free
and constant communication with other
minds which the hearing have There is a
popular delusion that the vocal organs Of
deaf children are defective The fact is
that such cases are rare exceptions and
that as a rule their vocal organs are nor
NAL The articulation of consonant sounds
depends on certain positions of the lips
tongue, teeth and palate. The quality of
vocal sounds depends on certain positions
of the tongue. Any deaf child who can cry
and scream, and has lips, tongue teeth and
palate, has the necessary vocal organs for
speech.
Until society learns that by doing its
whole duty to the deaf they can become
like normal people we shall need efficientiy
and inteligently cendacted homes for the
training In speech Of deaf children
1.-The work of this generation should be to
establish such homes, and If the work is
done as it ought to be the next generation
will thus learn to do the work for all deaf
children In their ownDhomes And it will
by that time become as natural to parents
and to the community to give then exact
ly the same trairdng through the eye as