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48
Mrs. Corner, first assistant, was ill for three months, and
Miss Black from New Zealand joined the staff.
On April 8th, the school met at Gainsford Road for the last
time. A deaf group has been taught there for fifty years. It was
one of the first day schools in the country for deaf children. The
school is now at Hale End Road.
Three boys left during the year. Two were K.S.N, as well
as a little deaf, but as the first defect was by far the greater, they
were found unsuitable for this school. One boy left to go to Tunmarsh
Lane School, West Ham.
Seven new children were admitted making the final total thirtynine,
fifteen of whom are partially and twenty-four totally deaf.
There have been no epidemics and not one case of infectious
disease. There are no "running ears'', and that is unusual in a
school for the deaf. Dr. Francis Clark, E.N.T. Specialist, made
his usual aural inspections, and commented on the good health
and bearing of the children.
At the end of the year a classification was carried out in attendances
on the definitions given by Professor and Mrs. Ewing,
i.e.:—
CLASS 1. Those with "impaired hearing" loss of 10 to 15
decibels.
Includes the slightly deaf who would be able to hear
well enough from a front desk to take lessons with
normal children in an elementary school.
CLASS II. The "Partially Deaf" showing a loss of 20 to
40 decibels.
Those not deaf enough for inclusion in a special school
but too deaf to be taught with normal children.
CLASS III. The "severely deaf" with a loss of 50 decibels
or more.
Represents the "hearing capacity" in most children
in special schools for the deaf.
On this basis there were 17 in the partially deaf group, the
remainder being classed as severely or totally deaf.
The exact classification of children is not a simple matter, and
I am indebted to Mrs. Burt for the following observations:—
"One or two in the baby group may eventually be classified
as partially deaf, but when they are very small they do not always
use the residual hearing they have, so it is difficult to be sure. I
have had children who appear to be deaf, who, after acquiring
language entirely by lip reading, have begun to attend to sounds