THE HARD OF HEARING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23593, 1 September 1938, Page 7

THE HARD OF HEARING

INSTRUCTION IN LIP READING LEAGUE TO BE ESTABLISHED With the object of laying the foundations for the establishment in Dunedin of a branch of the League for the Hard of Hearing, Dr J. Hardie Neil, of Dunedin, is at present visiting this city. The League has its headquarters in Auckland, and branches have already been established in Napier, Wellington, and Christchurch.

The chief purpose of the league, stated Dr Neil to a Daily Times representative yesterday, was to encourage facilities for the acquisition I of lip reading to minimise the social and economic disability of the hard of hearing. The Government had done a great deal for these sufferers by taking off the duty on the component parts of aids to hearing, and before long it was hoped to have these manufactured in the Dominion at a cost much below that which at present ruled But valuable though such aids were, he said, the bedrock principle in helping those who were deaf was the teaching of lip reading. He also paid a tribute to the genuine interest taken by the Minister of Interna] Affairs (Mr W. Parry) in the activities of the League. The League, he continued, was called upon to do some educational work to arouse an interest in the plight of these unfortunates. The disability of the blind seemed to oe much more deeply impressed on the public mind than that of the deaf although, if anything, the latter were even more cut off from the world. Taking the English statistics as a basis, there were 14,000 people in this country suffering from a definite and permanent disability in this respect so that there was a wide field for social work. Recently, the Government had appointed to the Training College at Auckland, a graduate qualified in lip reading, and suitable selected candidates were being given instruction. It was proposed to send these students to various districts when they had qualified, and in the meantime correspondence courses were being offered. ____^_