3 o 4 THE DEAF AND DUMB 



ed for some considerable time. It is therefore impossible to make any comparative 

 statement as to the increase or decrease in the numbers of deaf people in the United 

 Kingdom since 1901. But even if these figures were available, they might prove of 

 little value, as the wording of the census question relating to deafness varies each decade, 

 and in the last form was couched in language which will probably render it valueless. 

 The information asked at the 1911 census was: "If any person included in this 

 schedule is totally deaf, or deaf and dumb, state the infirmity opposite the person's 

 name, and the age at which he or she became afflicted." Now total deafness, whether 

 acquired or congenital, is comparatively rare, and even among the so-called " deaf and 

 dumb " it is generally recognised that there are from 15 per cent to 25 per cent with a 

 " useful " amount of hearing. The returns can only be misleading, unless indeed a 

 supplementary enquiry be held, such as that conducted by the United States Census 

 Bureau in 1906, in which a special schedule was sent to the 29,544 persons returned as 

 " deaf " in the first enquiry, and further particulars in the form of replies to specific 

 queries asked for. Mr. B. St. John Ackers, member of the Royal Commission on the 

 education of the blind and deaf, and Chairman of the International Statistics Committee 

 (on the Deaf), has pointed out 1 that " Statistics to have their full value, should not only 

 be full, accurate and reliable, but should be on the same plan in all countries. This 

 should apply both to census and school statistics." With this end in view, a " Form of 

 Inquiry " has been compiled for adoption in all countries represented on the Internation- 

 al Committee, and was issued at the end of 1912 to all the School Medical Officers in 

 Great Britain. In this way it is hoped that better information may be secured. 



The Report of the Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education in England for 1910- 

 1 1 gives the following figures: number of children examined in 23 educational areas, 122,854; 

 percentage with slight defect in hearing, 2.7; marked defect 1.3; number of schools in Eng- 

 land and Wales for the deaf, 48, with accommodation for 4,183 children, and average attend- 

 ance 3,514. In Scotland there were 12 schools with accommodation for 1,014 children, 

 and 714 pupils; in Ireland 4 schools with accommodation for 580, and 525 pupils. 



From an inquiry into the training of 947 deaf children in six typical schools the report 

 finds that 70 per cent are taught by the oral method, 10 per cent by mixed or combined 

 systems, 10 per cent by pure manual alphabet, and 10 per cent by manual alphabet and 

 gesture. The report states that about 80 per cent of the deaf children are normal mentally, 

 and a comparison of the figures of the various schools and institutions shows that about 

 two-thirds are being educated in residential schools, chiefly managed by private committees, 

 and one-third are being educated, in day schools managed entirely by the local authorities. 



The most recent American return (The Volta Review, Feb. 1912) gives the following 

 figures: number of schools for the deaf 148; total pupils 12,588; number taught speech 

 9,302 (73.9 per cent); taught wholly or chiefly by the "Oral" method 8,119 (64.5 per cent); 

 taught by the Auricular method 158 (1,25 per cent). 



In the opinion of the Chief Medical Officer in England, " the degree of knowledge, 

 skill and tact possessed and exercised by the teacher are factors which do more to make 

 or mar success in the case of the deaf than in the case of ordinary children;" and teachers 

 of the deaf appear to have recognised the supreme importance of periodically reviewing 

 the methods and plans for ameliorating the lot of the deaf child. The biennial con- 

 ferences of the National Association of Teachers of the Deaf have focussed the attention 

 of teachers and workers on behalf of the deaf on the necessity for advance in certain 

 directions. The International Conference held hi Edinburgh in 1907 was attended by 

 representatives from the British Colonies and all countries where education of the deaf 

 is properly organised, and at this gathering a full review was made of the methods 

 adopted for dealing with the education of the deaf. In 191 1 a very important conference 

 was held at Manchester, under the presklency of Lord Sheffield, when resolutions were 

 adopted: (a) in favour of provision for the higher education of the deaf; (b) the train- 

 ing of teachers for the deaf; (c) the compulsory education of the deaf in Ireland; (d) the 

 modification of the questions concerning deafness in the next census schedule; (e) in- 

 creased government grants to schools for the deaf; (/) the segregation of the feeble- 

 minded deaf; and (g) the earlier compulsory education of deaf children. 



An entirely new feature in the education of the deaf during the past three years has 

 1 Report of the Manchester Conference on the Education of the Deaf, 1911. 



