MOTHERS’ COLUMN.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XII, Issue VII, 17 February 1894, Page 166

MOTHERS’ COLUMN.

CURE OF SPEECH IMPEDIMENTS. BY EDWARD ECK. As soon as the child afflicted with speech impediments is old enough to enter school, and becomes conscious of its defect, its lite becomes unquestionably one of great suffering and constant mortification. The unfortunate habit of a stammering child will often cause interruption during the instruction hours, and make the other pupils restless and cause incalculable harm. In many cases the teacher has not the ability, patience or disposition to lessen the timidity of the unfortunate child. Encouraged by the careless parent they excuse themselves by saying : * Let the child alone, the habit will some day decrease.’ How wrong this is I From such neglect the future career of the child, will undoubtedly suffer. Finding himself excluded from the most desirable careers, be will be forced to strike out for himself in some new path for which, perhaps, neither his talents nor inclinations fit him. What shall we do to prevent stuttering in early youth ! Being a teacher for eleven years of the enre of speech impediments, let me say this : By careful observation, a mother can in many cases perceive slight indications of it in the first attempt at speech made by the child. Sometimes we meet three or four year-old children who already stutter. Parente do not consider the matter of sufficient importance, and the bad habit becomes a lasting defect. When parents perceive that their child has the habit of repeating syllables or letters, or pronouncing them incorrectly, they should with the greatest calmness, slowly and distinctly utter in a correct manner the wrongly pronounced letter, syllable or word, and let the child repeat it in like manner until it is able to pronounce it correctly. If they fail to understand the little one, then let it repeat the words again, forcing it to pronounce the vowels in a long-drawn manner ; for instance : ‘ Good night,’ ‘ sleep well,’ “ dear mama, please give me some cake.' Avoid, by all means, speaking too suddenly or abruptly to the child. Persons whose task it is to instruct such children must never become impatient or speak in an angry manner, for the future of the afflicted child is decided by the treatment it receives the first nine years of its life. If the child by the negligence fo its parents is not cured when ten years old, then it will have to undergo the troublesome cure with a specialist, which requires often a long time. I will give some main points in the methods to be used in remedying this defect: 1. Let the child stand passively erect, hands and arms hanging loosely ; let it inhale and exhale slowly and quietly, without raising its shoulders. The child should not catch the breath suddenly through the mouth while exercising. The inspiration must take place through the nostrils, the expiration through the mouth. Repeat this exercise fifteen to twenty times. If dizziness ensue, discontinue for a few minutes. 2. Let the child stand passively erect, the back perfectly straight, with hands upon its hips, inhale slowly, filling the lungs ; exhale through the mouth, and gradually with the sound of ha, holding this as long as possible. Then : ha, he, ha, he, hi, ha, he, hi, ho, ha, he, hi, ho, hoo. Then : ab, ah, eh, ah, eh, ih, ah, eh, ih, oh, ah, eh, ih, oh, ooh. The consonants must be repeated clearly and distinctly by their sound, not their name. Make combinations of the vowels with consonants, for instance : all, egg, ice, or, use, etc , after which you may proceed to more difficult words and sentences. Never forget that the vowel is the carrier of the word.