Evening star., 1936-11-22

16 years Of age, who are out Of school,
with no plans being made to help
them become useful citizens instead Of
eventual institution cases dependent
upon the charitable resources Of the
community. Miss Radford here
the fact the haunting terror
of the parents Of every crippled child
is, always, what will happen II we
should be taken first or find them
selves financially unable to care for
our handicapped ones"
Thankfulness for Aid.
Onicers and members of the Grip
pied Children Society are one in being
properly thankful, as they feel the
rest of the community should be, that
repeated efforts on the part Of vitality
interested school officials and such
civic groups as Kiwanis, Rotary and
the Board of Trade finally induced
Congress to authorize the use Of the
lower floors of the Weightman and
Magruder Public Schools In connec-
ton with classes for crippled children,
and to provide the salaries Of teachers
to instruct them. They are likewise
conscious, too, that about the only
concessions which we're made in meet
ing the particular problems that are
their to serve necessarily had to stop
with the construction Of ramp in
the rear of each building, the setting
aside of room where physical check
ups may be given, and provision
that the joint playground, which the
physically handicapped share with
the able-bodied children on the Sec
ond floor, shall be used at different
intervals.
The Weightman School for white
children, located at Twenty-third and
M streets, under the supervising
principalship of Mr. Henry w. Draper,
with Mrs. Beulah M. Drake In charge
of its classes for the physically han
dicapped, also serves as the head
quarters of the Crippled Children So
ciety, with Miss Mary L. Radford as
its assistant on duty.
The Magruder School, on M between
Sixteenth and Seventeenth. where the
classes for colored crippled children
are held, is twin of the Weightman
as regards age and general made
quacy for the present needs which it
is endeavoring to serve, for 1t was
built in 1885,. just one year after the
Weightman was erected. Mrs. Min
cola Kirkland is the supervising prin-
- ha Ii,yici iv, xxyNf he
Magruder is located and Mrs. ]. c.
Smith is the teacher in charge of its
crippled classes.
Crippled children should. of course,
be housed in school quarters espe-
cially designed for them on main
floor levels, having fire hazards in
mind, where, as in Baltimore, the
class rooms occupied by crippled chill
dren can be emptied in a very few
minutes" Mrs Grayson emphasizes,
as she does the fact that Superintend-
ent of School Ballou. Mrs. Henry
Grafton Doyle and other members of
the Board of Education desire these
ideal conditions for our city's physi-
cally handicapped. They realize, too,
how ideal it would be to have avail
able for white and colored children
alike, especially equipped and trained
teachers detailed to make bedside
visits to hospitals and homes where
bed-ridden, home-bound children
might have the pleasure and privi-
lege of going on with their lessons
and of having weary, seemingly end
less hours frightened by occupational
therapy.
Normally and Occupation.
How necessary normalcy and use
full, purposeful occupation are to the
even temporarily physically disabled
child, only those of us who have gone
through long invalidisms with chill
dren confined to bed for month upon
month can possibly realize. Make 10
parents of yourself. and there will
still come that moment when your
son will say to you. THE only people
whom I really want to see are the
boys from school" Then suppose,
after their visits are being made and
you think all is as well as it can be
with your sick-room world, you are
confronted with the finality of Il may
as well tell you mother, am not going
through all Of this torture of casts.
massage, exercise, lights and what
not. day in and day out unless I can
graduate with my class. If don't I'll
just be different all the rest Of my
life" That red-haired, dynamic
sympathetic headmaster at st. AL
bans, Canon Lucas, who believes that
boys can do almost anything they SET
their minds upon, aided and abetted
especially by two of his teachers, Mr.
Scott and Mr.. Hurlburt. but in re-
ality by the support Of the entire fac
ulty and student body, and such price.
less friends as Miss Anne Goding, for.
mer principal of the Wilson Teachers
College. and Miss Janet Ditto, retired
teacher of history at the Centra
High School, made that particular
wish come true for this boy, now with.
out apparent handicap, the following
June.
The Crippled Children Society hope.
to make Just such wishes as these come
true for children who may not be as
fortunate as the one to whom I have
referred.
1t is also in connection with Kiwanis
and Rotary striving to help out with
the problem of transporting handi-
capped children to school and t.
clinics, since at present there are nc
public or Community Chest fund.
available for this purpose.
It is true o local taxicab company
will take on this problem at total
cost of $l3 month per individual
providing drivers of known care anc
skill who are most helpful and con-
siderate, but as Miss Radford pointed
out, when only 2S per cent Of the
families included in this survey were
found able to afford even the simplest
kind of medical care for their handi.
capped children, the service might a.
well be $1,000, as far as its avail.
ability to any Of them is concerned
1t Is in this very connection how.
.x.- that Are Hro veou nrordtv tell,