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93
(k) Defective Speech.—At the end of the year there were
in the schools 36 children who had defective speech, mainly
stammering, 30 boys and 6 girls.
The class for stammering children which had been contemplated
for some time started work on April 14th, 1931, being housed in
the accessory building at 13, Mattock Lane, which is also used
for orthopaedic treatment and remedial exercises. Here twelve
children, the usual number in such a class, can be readily accommodated.
An important part of the treatment is to teach the
children to cultivate complete mental and physical relaxation,
an end which is not easy to attain if even a slight degree of congestion
is present.
The number of cases so far treated has been small, but already
our experience corroborates that of other local authorities who
have been undertaking the work for some time, namely, that the
expense and additional work entailed are repaid by encouraging
results. Few realise how severe a handicap a stammer is, and
only those who have heard the experiences of stammerers told by
themselves can appreciate the degree of mental anguish for which
it is sometimes responsible, so that it is not surprising that the
rapid improvement which often results from treatment is followed
by a corresponding measure of gratitude from children and parents.