SPEECH FOR DEAF CHILDREN. 363 



SPEECH FOR DEAF CHILDREN. 



BY LTLLIE EGINTON WAKREN. 



"T ESS than thirty years ago no attempts were made to give 

 J-J speech to the deaf children of this country. Signs, writing* 

 and finger-spelling were the means of communication employed. 

 It had been a gigantic task to arrange a system of education for 

 a class of persons previously supposed incapable of advancement, 

 and it is not surprising that articulation in its early days fought 

 hard for recognition among the older teachers. Happily, the 

 spirit of opposition is waning, and there is now a friendly admira- 

 tion manifested by them for the best intelligible speech given to 

 the deaf. They are right in demanding that it be intelligible. 

 It is easy to accustom one's ears to the articulation of a person 

 seen daily, and if the pupil conversed with none but his relatives 

 and teachers there might be no complaint about peculiarities. 

 Such is not the case, however. With rare exceptions the deaf 

 child must struggle in the world just as his hearing brothers and 

 sisters do. The speech that comes easily to them is acquired by 

 him at the expense of time and effort ; it is his due that it should 

 be made intelligible and agreeable. 



As is generally known, the various States have large institu- 

 tions for the deaf and dumb, or, as sometimes called, deaf-mutes. 

 Dumb and mute are terms no longer applicable to the deaf who 

 receive the best instruction ; for it is now conceded to be a mark 

 of neglected education to be unable to speak to some extent. 

 Formerly they were dumb because deaf; now those who are 

 dumb are so because untaught. The first superintendents to give 

 articulation any place in their institutions considered it an added 

 touch to give occasional pleasure. They were too strongly at- 

 tached to signs to believe instruction in the various school 

 branches could be given by speech and reading from the mouth. 

 A comparatively few scholars, chiefly those who once heard, were 

 put in classes and received lessons in speech a half hour daily, 

 or four times a week, perhaps less. During the other hours 

 there was no practical use of what was gained. In all the 

 branches of the course, the teacher, in many cases a sign-taught 

 mute, conducted the recitations in signs, finger-spelling, and 

 writing. Spoken words were not used more than is German or 

 French by the average child who has a lesson in the language 

 with many others a few times a week. Thus articulation failed 

 to obtain a fair opportunity to show its merits. Gradually some 

 of the various obstacles to its success have been removed, and its 

 teachers are making persistent efforts to secure to every deaf 

 child a chance to speak and to read the lips. 



