rasped the idea and will hold up as many fingers as he feels pats.
Simple as the idea seems, it will often take a bright child some time to
realize what you want him to do. But you are _sure_ that he feels the
pats, whereas, if you began at once with sounds, you could not know
whether his failure to respond was because he did not hear, or through
not understanding what you expected of him. He will weary of the
exercise soon, and then mother may as well turn to something else till
he has rested.

Having established this system of response on his part to sensations
perceived, it is not difficult to shift from the number of pats to the
number of times he hears a noise. This once accomplished, tests can be
made with sounds of different kinds, different pitch, and different
volume, varying the distance, the instruments, and the vowel when the
articulate sounds are reached. He can be shown a whistle, then, when it
is blown behind his back, he will hold up as many fingers as the times
it was blown, if he perceives the sound. He can be asked to distinguish
between a whistle, a little bell, and the clapping of the hands. When he
is successful in that, the vowel sounds may be uttered not far from his
ear, but behind him. Begin with "ah" (ae), as this is the most open and
strongest; then try "oh" (o with macron), which is not easily confused
with ae. Then ee (e with macron). If, after a time, a distance and a
degree of loudness are found that enable him to recognize these sounds
with unfailing accuracy, or at least 90 per cent. of the time, then
other sounds can be added, such as aw (a with diaresis below), (a with
breve) (as in hat), (i with macron) (as in ice), oo (as in cool), ow (as
in owl). Using these sounds at different pitches, and with different
intensities and distances, a sufficiently accurate estimate can be
formed of the degree of his hearing power so far as his present needs
are concerned.

IX

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDUAL HEARING

If any ability to perceive sounds is found, every effort should be made
to lead the child to use it, and as the most essential use of hearing is
in the comprehension of spoken language, the principal effort should be
made along that line.

Take three objects, the names of which are short, with the principal
vowels quite easily distinguished. A little toy street car, a cap, and a
toy sheep, would do nicely to begin with, as the three words, "car,"
"cap," and "sheep," are not ea