NATIONAL SCHOOL FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN MOOTED

Wanganui Chronicle, 27 April 1950, Page 5

NATIONAL SCHOOL FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN MOOTED

WELLINGTON, Last Night (PA) The possibility of providing a national school for intellectually handicapped children was mentioned by the Minister of Education (Mr Algie) this afternoon after he had received a depu--lat ion representing the parents of Wellington handicapped children. Mr Algie gave the deputation an assurance that its case for a building in Wellington in which children could be trained would be brought before Cabinet immediately. "I believe, speaking personally, that the problem of training nandicapped children must be handled on a national rather than on a local basis.” said the Minister later. “I see the urgent need for giving parents of handicapped children in Wellington tht amenities they ask for, and I am sura the public would wish me to act in that direction. I therefore feel that the problem is urgent and that we must find first, of all some accommodation that can be used immediately, and secondly, that we must find some way of deaiing with the Wellington aspect of this problem in a satisfactory manner. But over and above all this comes the question of handling this problem in a broader njanner, and I feel that we should approach the question in exactly the same way as we have dealt with the education of blind children and those who are deaf and dumb. This means that we should perhaps aim at founding a national school for providing a good training for those handicapped children who could benefit from it.”