Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-14
SCIENCE TO MAKE DRIVE
ON CURSE OF DEAFNESS
Specialists Plan 100 Lines of Study and
Treatment, With Particular Reference
to Child Victims.

method OF testing hearing by cOnd1-
toned refieXes which have been used
successfully in testing sensory discrim-
nation in animals. 1t is obviously i'm
possible to hold watch or any other
sound instrument certain distances from
child's ear and then ask him II
he hears the sound-especially for
child under two. With the new method,
the child might be given bit Of candy
and bell sounded simultaneously.
After long series of trials the child
should show the same reaction to thu
bell sounded alone, without the candy,
If he is able to hear it.
THE deaf child often is thought To
be feeble minded and actually u.s." says
the committee, with respect to his
functioning. If devices can be develops
ed which will discriminate between con-
stitutional feeble mindedness and audi
tory deficieny 1t might be possible to
develop an adequate training program
for the young deaf child as distinguish
ed from the feeble minded child. There
is no question, but that the figures with
reference to the occurrence of feeble-
mindedness among young children are
vitiated in part by the inclusion OF
many cases who are auditorily def
Gent" Here also it is planned to use
the conditioned reflex method, because
some indication has been found that
the deaf child and the feeble minded
child condition differently.
A great deal of work will be done
on the problem of actually restoring
hearing to deaf children by surgical
treatment, hearing devices and traina
ing remnants of hearing. The commit
tee feels that half year of hearing
at the age of four may be the equiva-
lent with respect to general development
Of four or five years Of instruction In
deaf school later on.
A comparative study by anatomists
and dentists is planned of the mouth
Jaws, teeth and throat structures Of
hearing and deaf children. and also OF
the basic motor reactions of the tongue,
lips, diaphragm and throat.
One of the most important studies
will be the nature Of the development
of complex mental processes without
language stimulation. Modern psy'
chology," says the committee report
attaches fundamental Importance ia
the linguistic processes as important
factors in development. When we real
ize that the ordinary child at the age
of years has vocabulary of between
1000 and 900 words and uses every
form of sentence. every part of speech
anu lids tIlE VI
the language pretty thoroughly worked
out, and when we realize further that
the child of 8 is. in comparison with
the adult. virtually at the completion
of his language development, except for
the addition Of more words and few
more invol"ed forms. We begin to realize
something Of the handicap the deaf
child has borne.
THE public school receives at the age
OF 6 in a hcG-ing child one who al
ready is very far advanced in the basic
manipulation of linguistic processes
The school for the deaf. taking a child
at the age of 8. receives a ch:.d Tho
has made virtually no progress anc at
the best adds but a few words a real
to the child's vocabulary. in comparison
with the tremendous acquisition made
by the normal child at the age o. Q,
and A. It is no wonder. then. that the
whole development of complex mefstal
processes in the auditorily defective
child are affected.
Apatheiic and ListIeSs.
"There seems to be a general agree.
ment that the deaf child Is usually
apathetic and listless as compared With
the average hearing child The spor.
taneous motor behavior of child play,
a very important part in his general de-
vclopment A study should be undes5
taken to determine the relationship be-
tween auditory stimulation and sucE
behavior In connection with this vould
be a quantitative study Of the develops
ment of motor ref1eXes. We find little
material available. We do not know
whether the general bodily tone Of the
deaf is lower than that of the normal
whether their reflexes are sluggish q
accelerated, or whether the reflexes ap-
pear at the same time or later than IN
normal children"
Do the senses Of sight and touch
become more acute to compensate for
the Deafness? This generally is as.
SIimed to be the case. but experiments
with older children have given little
support to the popular belief. Efforts
will be made to determine whether
such a compensation occurs In early
childhood
An important field Of investigation
will be the effect of deafness upon
personality and social relations OF
young children. 1.-THE ordinary per.
SON." says the committee, docs not
realize that the individual begins his
social training almost at birth, and
that through his relations an tn-
LeIdCt1OLlo Will AAlo ACAAONo AAN 0NsAN.N
up a whole complex series Of reactions
which are of utmost importance IN
adjustment and later development The
effects upon the personality and social
DEVELOPMENT of the child. due to his
isolation from one of the primary
sources of sensory stimulation: the
sources of the attitudes Of submission,
timidity and negativism which we ass
sociate with deafness. and the magn1f
tude of the loss that the deaf child
experiences are vital problems.
Another intensive study will be url.
dertaken on the emotional and socla!
adjustment problems of the deaf ana
hard of hearing, and for this purpose
it is proposed to establish anotner m-
stitution, which might be located IN
Washington.
THE emotional reaction Of deafness on
the individual. says the committee, Is
of a grave nature, reaching in many
cases a psychopathic level" A careful
study will be made of the day-by day
behavior of the hard-of-hearing ano
comparisons made with the behavior OF
recognized psychic types.
A number of surveys will be made to
determine the actual prevalence OF
deafness in the general population. For
this purpose q selected area with
population of about 10000 will ba
taken and a house-to-house canvass
made. other surveys will attempt To
determine the prevalence of deafness
among Negroes. among rural comt
among persons living under
different climatic conditions. The come
mittee also will try to find out tins
relationship between deafness and sex,
economic condition. race, scholastic az
and intelligence.