TRAINING CRIPPLES

Grey River Argus, 13 August 1937, Page 12

TRAINING CRIPPLES

" Modern U.S.A. Methods j FAMOUS CHICAGO SCHOOL. ‘f The wonders of the Spalding School ' for Crippled Children in Chicago Were J described in an interview by Mrs G. ’ A. Kurd-Wood, a New Zealander who had the opportunity of visiting the ’ school last year. The methods used _ are interesting in view of the permission given by the Auckland Hospital 1 Board to open the Wilson Home for ’ Crippled Children at Takapuna. j Mrs Kurd-Wood stated that the . principal work of the school was phy- , siotheraphy. There were 900 child- ’ ren, all with some kind of physical , handicap, and in addition to receiving ; academic training they were prepared for trades or for home duties. Every child received treatment under the , supervision of a fully qualified physiotherapist. From class room to class ; room the pupils were transferred in huge elevators. A good deal of the treatments were given in warm baths, or immediately following swimming in warm pools Mrs Kurd-Wood noticed many ininstanees of treatment being administered in the baths. Muscles which did not co-ordinate were helped considerably by the action of swimming, which was, therefore, started as soon as pupils arrived for the ctay and had been given cocoa containing codliver oil. From the swimming pools the patients were taken to the violet ray booths. In the school,\ also, there was a special section for the deaf. There were two sections of these pupils, those w"ho had been Lorn deaf or had been born with insufficient hearing to acquire speech in the normal way, and those merely hard of hearing. They received training in lip-reading and speech development. Some of the rooms were fitted with multiple group hearing apparatus, which was in constant use in training children with any dormant hearing. It had been found that, with daily acoustic training, the dormant hearing can he brought to a usable stage. Naturally there was special food prescribed. When the children arrived they were given codliver oil and cocoa; they had milk at the recreational period and luncheon in a room with a quiet atmosphere. Tuition was given orally and. by printed matter in the sight-saving room. In other parts of the building there were commercial workships. Orders were fulfilled lor woodwork, arts and crafts, cakes and other products of the school.