UNUSUAL CASE

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 89, 13 October 1915, Page 8

UNUSUAL CASE

CONCERNING A DEAF CHILD SHOULD SHE BE SENT TO THE SUMNER SCHOOL? An unusual application, said to be the first of its kind heard in New Zealand, came before Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court to-day. William John Anderson, Director of Education, applied to have a little girl committed to the Sumner School for the Deaf. The application was made under section 27 of the Education Act of last year, and the point at issue was whether the child was capable of receiving education in the ordinary manner. The application was opposed by the parents, who were represented by Mr. T. M. Wilford. Mr. V. R. Meredith, for the Department, stated that the child was not stone deaf, but evidence would be called to show that she could not be properly taught at a public school. The first witness was Joseph Edward Stevens, Director of the School for the Deaf at Sumner, who stated that he had been at the school for over twenty-eight years, and during the last nine years he had been director. Something like 341 children had passed through his hands, and there were now 111 children in the institution. A deaf child with a normal mind could be made to speak quite as intelligently as anybody else, but it was almost essential that a child should be received while young. Authorities held that a child should be received into a school when four years old. In New Zealand they were unable to take children so young, but waited until they were two years older. Witness first saw the child when she was seven. He examined her and discovered that she could say a few words such as " baby,' "father," and "mother." The mother was then advised to send the little girl to the Sumner School, but said she could not bear to part with her child. He saw the chUd again on 24th July, 1914. H* found her vocabulary vastly improved, and that she was quite an expert in lipreading, the result, no doubt, of instructions he had left with the parent for the benefit of the child. As a result of later examinations witness thought that it was hopeless to attempt to teach the child in a public school, and she should be placed under somebody expert in the teaching of the deaf. At the Sumner School they had had children who first of all were given private tuition in small classes, but such tuition was not satisfactory. The little girl then, at the instance of Mr. Wilford, gave a practical illustration of her ability in the direction of lipreading, and it was admitted on all sides that she was extremely intelligent. She then answered questions asked in a loud voice close to her ear. Mr. Wilford asked Mr. Stevens whether any real harm would be done if the child were sent to a local convent for, say, six months. This would be a final test. Mr. Stevens : If the child is coming to our school, I think she should come at the beginning of next year. Mr. Wilford : Well, I make the suggestion that the child should be allowed to go to the convent for three months. Then Mr. Stevens can examine the child again, and report to the Court. You see, I am up against the law in this matter. A deaf child is described as " a child who cannot be efficiently taught with other children." His Worship agreed to the suggestion, and the application was adjourned sine die, not to be brought on before 12tb January.