https://hiddenhistoriesut.org/files/original/09bda45a3cd78a35aac10216e6223c8d.pdf e6521157d7864f8b7ed97caaa0920094 PDF Text Text THE VOICE OF TEXAS CRIPPlED CHIlDREN 7 Special Education 0 0 The Next Step Forward 0 "IF I COULD only go to school," is A the pitiable plea one hears time and again from crippled children from six years of age upward. "If I could only be like other children!" The problem of education worries the intelligent and alert child who is unable to secure it much more than it does his elders who may be devoting more attention to the physical or economic aspects of his case. Over and over one reads in case histories: "Attitude of child— Anxious about inability to attend school." Sometimes the problem is solved by an operation which makes the child whole and allows him to resume life and education in a normal manner. Many times there is no complete cure possible, or a long intermediate period of recovery is required, or nothing at all can be done to change the crippled condition. In such cases, the regular school is no place for the little cripple who cannot play with his classmates unless they take special care not to hurt him, who cannot get to and from school without special assistance, and who oftentimes cannot even sit comfortably in the regular school desks. Special provision has not been made to date in normal classrooms for these unfortunate children. Rather, adjustments, if any, are made by the crippled child himself, an inconsiderate and inhuman way of managing the situation. Suppose the child is confined to a wheel chair. Very few or no schools have facilities for getting wheel chairs up or down stairs, and, even so, not many youngsters who cannot walk have the strength to sit in a regular school desk or classroom all day long. M OST TEACHERS are as considerate as possible of the handicapped child and give him special edvantages and care, but the fact is indisputable that this haphazard system is faulty in the extreme, and besides being of only casual value to the handicapped child is also unfair to the normal student who' may be ignored or slighted more than he deserves in order that the teacher may devote more time to the retarded student. This is not to say that many physically unsound children are not as intelligent and perhaps even more so than their sturdier playfellows, but their comparative lack of strength prevents their keeping up their studies at the same rate of speed as the healthier ones. Take for example the spastic child, who may be thought a dullard and remain one if aid is not given him, but who, with instruction in the coordination of muscles and encouragement from an understanding teacher may develop into one of the most brilliant men of his day, overcom- ing his early handicap entirely; otherwise, he might always have been forced to remain in a low mental and occupational class. The first spastic paralysis clinic ever held in Texas was held December, 1936, in Port Arthur, with the astounding result that from on county alone,prximtysv-fepaichldrn reported. There is a spastic paralysis class in the Thomas W. Hughen's Crippled Children's School there with almost twenty pupils having enrolled since it started. "Education for all the children of all the people," is almost a stereotype in any educator's vocabulary now, but the practice of the preaching is sadly lacking when accurate knowledge of the number of children needing aid is so limited as to be almost confined to guesswork, and when funds appropriated for the education of all are turned into the general fund for normal children, leaving the cripples without consideration of any kind. W ACO is one town which is not doing this, but is using its per capita scholastic apportionment for all children alike. Special classes are held for the. cripples, and those who are bedridden are visited for an hour a day by special instructors. People who object to the spending of extra money for the education of these children have failed to consider the farreaching results of intelligent care for them now. A crippled infant presents only a physical problem, but by the time a child is 6 years old, he becomes a physical and social problem, and when he reaches his late teens, he has become an economic problem as well unless something is done to provide him with the educational means with which to provide for himself. It is estimated that there are about two million physically handicapped children in the United States who are different enough from other children to make special schooling a distinct advantage and necessity for them. Some few efforts have been made, but so far only about one-tenth of this total has been reached for this purpose. Schools such as that in the Oklahoma Hospital for Crippled Children, which has two teachers and two occupational therapists and gives instruction at the bedside as well as in the classroom, or the William Jennings Bryan School for Crippled Children, which teaches grades one to nine in a special building with rooms devoted to occupational physiotherapy, are all too few and scattered. Some of the Texas hospitals, such as John Sealy in Galveston, provide excellent training for the children while they are in school, but on a very limited scale. A very fine occupational therapy department is maintained in some of the Texas hospitals. For the last year or so the State Department of Education has been endeavoring to get a Special Education Department set up within its jurisdiction, and efforts are still being made toward that end, but no results can be reported as yet. IN THE United States all sorts of physical aid have been given crippled children, but nowhere heretofore has there been a provision for their education made. An attempt to correct this delinquency is being made in the PepperBoland Bill presented in Congress for the purpose of educating physically handicapped children. The bill would provide an annual appropriation of $11,580,000 to be distributed as follows: 1) $40,000 to go to each state, without restriction and without the necessity of being matched. 2) $9,000,000 to be distributed among the states on a basis of the ratio of their scholastic population to the total scholastic population of the United States, this amount to be matched by the State's expenditure for the education of physically handicapped children, over and above its expenditure for normal children. Whether or not the bill is passed, there are certain things which can be done now which will help the status of crippled children, in any event, and the Texas Society for Crippled Children urges the observance of the following suggestions: 1) Cooperation with state authorities in the provisions of the Social Security Act insofar as they affect crippled children. 2) Cooperation with state authorities in the provisions of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act insofar as they affect crippled children. 3) Cooperation with school authorities in the establishment of demonstration centers for the crippled child. 4) Demonstration of the value of home instruction for the crippled child who cannot attend school. H AZEL C. McINTIRE, director of special classes in the Ohio State Department of Education, says: "In the years of experience we have had in this work we have known but one district that opened a class with local funds entirely; in all other instances they have been dependent partly on state aid. So it seems to me necessary we have federal aid if we are to take care of these children." It should be borne in mind that the mind and spirit, more sensitive than any member of the body could ever be, are the most often neglected because of their obscurity and intangibility. Any observer can recognize the necessity of re(Continued on Page 13) �8 THE VOICE OF TEXAS CRIPPlED CHIlDREN BEHIND THE SCENES IN OUR HOSPITALS �THE VOICE OF TEXAS CRIPPLED CHILDREN 9 Over 800 Children Need Your Help "I want to tell you how much we thank God for such an organization," a Wisconsin mother was recently moved to write in an open letter to a state organization which had provided for an operation which made her child walk again. "If ours were the only case, I would say just as much, but I know that they help many other children," she continued, and the mother was right. Her child was only one of many being cared for by a philanthropic organization, and not only in Wisconsin but by similar organizations scattered all over the world. Texas has the Texas Society for Crippled Children, which, since its beginnings, ten years ago, has enabled hundreds of children to walk again, to play again, and to live normal, happy lives in a world miraculously set aright for them. But the help which the Society can render children is proportionate to the number of active members it has and is limited to the extent that its membership is limited. And the Society is limited right now to facing the fact that over 800 crippled children in Texas need help in hospitalization and care (these figures are from the records of the Crippled Children's Division in the State Department of Education at Austin), and that they cannot receive the care they need because of a lack of funds. A lack of funds means one thing: a lack of interest. Apathy is almost a worse enemy of crippled children than the disease or accident which struck them down. No one, personally approached, we believe, would even consider refusing to contribute to the furthering of a project designed to help these children get the treatment and care they need. The flaw lies hi that not enough people are approached. Not enough even know that the Society exists, and they do not understand its purpose and its workings when they do know of its existence. One minute's devotion to the telling of the cause behind the founding of this organization, and a ;new member would be conscripted, and another child given a new lease on life. A popular safety slogan is: "Spare a second, save a life." We suggest that it should also be: "Spend a minute, save a life." The Texas Society for Crippled Children proclaims a cause which calls for the assistance of volunteers; and volunteers are not lacking, we believe, if the call is only issued forcibly enough. A few days ago, a University boy, presumably one of the most blasé young men on the campus, listened intently when he was stopped to discuss a crippled child's problem. "Why, yes," he said, when his assistance was asked in a certain capacity. "I'll be glad to do it. No, I wouldn't IN THE PICTURES Convalescent children play and take the sun in this special play yard on the hospital grounds, upper left, in company with other small patients who appreciate the temporary change from hospital rooms and sun porch to the earth and grass and breeze. Directly beneath, a group of youngsters gather about the lady who reads those exciting and charming stories to them. Notice the look on the face of the little boy to the far left. Basket weaving is one of the most popular and beneficial exercises little fingers can be put to doing to recover lost dexterity, or to learn to manipulate hands and wrists never used before. The playroom, in this hospital, lower left, is fitted like a well-planned nursery, except that the things which might be mere toys to a normal child are essential to the development of these children, who are taught to play with the toys that do their individual cases the most good. Note the braces on the legs. These cheerful youngsters laugh at visitors all day long, and they laughed into the camera, despite the fact that they are confined to their baby beds or are under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. The two boys and five baby boys taking a sun bath in the next picture were victims of poliomyelitis, infantile paralysis. By receiving early treatment, that is, by being placed on frames and in splints and given essential exercises, they will avoid the bad deformities found in older children who did not have the opportunity of such care. Many operations on feet, knees, hips, shoulders, wrists, and spines would need never be performed had early treatment been available. The casual visitor may shed a tear at seeing babies thus tied down, but the babies are contented, having individual care as near as possible to that which their mothers would give them. When the weakened muscles in abdomens and legs are strong enough, they will be put into braces and taught to walk. An airy hospital roof, with its smooth floor is a recreational center for wheel chair patients. Just below, it's bedtime story time for those who are scarcely more than babies and who miss the "tucking-in" their mothers would give them,. but not so much as they would were it not for workers who see that they are kept amused and busy most of the time. The boy with his left hand in bandages, bottom right corner, may not be able to play baseball for a long time to come, but in the meantime he is learning the quiet pleasures of a domino game, and the little girl on the bed is finding that checkers can be quite as fascinating as many of the other recreations she is denied while doctors and nurses are doing all they can to correct her physical defect. think of taking pay for a job like that. I'm glad to help any way I can." Everyone else feels like that too, we are sure. We must only get to them all, tell them our purpose, outline our plans, explain our needs, and we will get their help. This is your job. You, as a member, or as someone vitally interested in helping crippled children, must do this task if it is to be done. Make it your pleasant deed for the day to get a new member to send in his two dollar fee. Following are some excerpts from letters in the files of the Crippled Children's Division, State Department of Education, from parents and children who are grateful for the help given them in the correction of physical defects. We quote these letters to show you the real depth and sincerity of feeling these people have where the aid given their children is concerned, and the gratitude the children themselves feel.—Editor. "I am writing you, to let you know that my child, is improving very much. She has had two operations, and right now is learning to walk. I am again thanking you for your help, to correct my child from being a cripple." "Just a few lines to thank you for your kindness and your gratitude for giving my son the free trip to Galveston. We thank you with all our heart. God blessed you for your kindness." "Through neglect I have not abided by your request in your letter of November 18, 1938, that I keep you informed from time to time on the progress of my daughter and the benefits derived from treatments. . . . But I assure you that, though I have failed to show my appreciation by not writing you, I do appreciate it to the utmost." "We take this means to thank you for what you have done for the benefit of our son. . . . We appreciated it very much and pray that God will bless you in your efforts to help other crippled children and hope someday he will be able to walk without the aid of a brace." "My husband and I wish to extend to you our sincere thanks for your promptness in handling the case of our daughter. . . . "We are also grateful for the kind and courteous treatment she is receiving at the . . . hospital. "With sincere thanks and best wishes for success in your great work. . ." "I am writing in regard to your letter referring to our daughter. . . . "We wish to send our thanks to you for your help in getting her in the hospital. "We. . . . will be there the 15th. . . ." "I am sure you recive many, many letters of thanks from the children that are benifited through your department, (Continued on Page 13) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. 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Title A name given to the resource The Voice of Crippled Children Newsletter Description An account of the resource Excerpt from The Voice of Crippled Children Newsletter, Vol. II, No. 9, March 1939. Texas Society for Crippled Children publication. Special Education-The Next Step Forward. Behind the Scenes photos. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Voice of Crippled Children Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 9, 1939 Language A language of the resource English Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This electronic resource is made available by the University of Texas Libraries solely for the purposes of research, teaching and private study. This material is made available for education and research purposes only. The creator of this exhibit does not own the rights for these items; it cannot grant or deny permission to use this material. Copyright law protects unpublished as well as published materials. It is your responsibility to determine the rights status and secure whatever permission may be needed for the use of any item. Due to the nature of archival collections, rights information may be incomplete or out of date. We welcome updates or corrections. Upon request, we'll remove material from public view while we address a rights issue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University of Texas at Arlington Disability Disability Resources