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of the work. In order that this may be the more apparent, the figures for the two
years have been placed in parallel columns:—
1926. 1925.
Fit for central school 4 4
Fit for elementary school 73 19
Fit for elementary school and treatment 53
Fit for elementary school front row190 88
Fit for elementary school front row and treatment 137
Fit for hard of hearing school 149 82
Fit for normal deaf school 68 87
Fit for defective deaf school 12 12
Fit for mentally defective school 18 13
Imbecile 2 4
Invalid 15 11
Advice given 42 45
763 366
It will be seen that the number of children seen in 1926 was nearly 400 more
than in 1925, the reason being that a special endeavour was made to discover as
far as possible the number of children affected more or less with deafness who were
attending the elementary schools. A large percentage (59.9) of these were fit for
an elementary school, either in their ordinary places or in the front row, with or
without treatment in either case. A number of the cases fit for elementary school
and treatment were cases of temporary deafness due to obstruction by wax.
It will be noted that the percentage of children fit for deaf schools has fallen
from about 27.0 to 10.5, while that of the hard of hearing has declined from 22.4
to 19.5. This is partly due to the greatly increased number of early deaf cases.
Attention has, however, recently been drawn to the fact that the proportion between
children passed for deaf and partially deaf schools has altered considerably during
the past 16 years. The figures are as follows:—
Between 1904 and 1909 the numbers passed as deaf were:—
1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
32 60 114 129 96 93
Up to and including 1909 the figures include all degrees of deafness, and many of
these would now be classed as partially deaf. The figures from 1910 to 1926 can
be given separately for each class:—
Tear. Deaf. Partially deaf. Tear. Deaf. Partially deaf.
191 125 41 1918 88 59
1911 120 9 1919 124 80
1912 111 34 1920 130 88
1913 148 84 1921 125 76
1914 122 60 1922 134 67
1915 135 62 1923 97 83
1916 83 67 1924 110 66
1917 95 66 1925 103 87
1926 68 135
The explanation of these figures is, perhaps, a little complex. In some ways
it is more apparent than real. In the earlier years the attempts made to discover
the partially deaf child were very limited, and hard of hearing schools were not
opened all at once, but one by one and at varying intervals. The whole matter was,
in a word, in an experimental stage, and consequently a number of children were
sent to deaf schools who would probably now te judged to be more fit for hard of
hearing classes. As time went on and the opportunities of studying the partially
deaf child in contrast with his much more deaf or wholly deaf brother became greater,
experience showed that the method of teaching in the hard of hearing centres,
whereby teaching upon deaf lines was combined with practice among hearing
children, was adapted to children much more deaf than was originally believed.
Hence has arisen a tendency to pass children into hard of hearing classes who would