mum proficiency in
speaking and in understanding others when they speak, is lessened in
direct proportion to the extent to which he is permitted to use the
silent or manual means of communication. In the so-called "combined"
schools, the _environment_ is largely manual. A visit to the
playgrounds, the baseball fields, the shops, dining rooms, and
dormitories of "combined" schools will disclose the pupils using silent
means of communication, not only between themselves, _but with those in
charge of them. They do not think in spoken forms, but in finger
spelling and signs_. The powerful influence of environment in those
schools is _against_ the acquisition of the speech and lip-reading
habit.

The mother who has faithfully followed the suggestions offered in the
foregoing pages will be able to appreciate what she sees on visiting the
schools, and will gain much more from such visits than one who is
entirely inexperienced in the problem. Every mother should make it her
business to visit at least one _purely oral_ school, in order that she
may make herself thoroughly intelligent on what may be expected of a
deaf child.

Unfortunately, pure oral schools are not as plentiful as "combined"
schools, but it will well repay any parent to make a journey, even
across the continent, if necessary, in order to study the workings of
some good, purely oral, school. Do not be satisfied with a visit to the
nearest "combined" school.

_You owe it to your child_ to make yourself thoroughly intelligent as to
the _possibilities_ open to a deaf child. You will not be intelligent
till you have personally visited some good _purely oral_ school.

The number, character, location, etc., of the schools are constantly
changing. A descriptive list of all schools corrected to date will be
gladly supplied by the author to any one requesting it.

XIV

THE PRESERVATION OF SPEECH

WHEN DEAFNESS RESULTS FROM ACCIDENT OR ILLNESS AFTER INFANCY

Up to this point it has been assumed that deafness occurred before the
age of two years, and before the child had begun to speak. In cases
where, through accident or illness, impairment of hearing has come after
the child has begun to talk, the mother should bend all her efforts upon
keeping the speech of her child. The younger the child, the more
difficult is the task. Without the greatest vigilance and increasing
attention, the speech of a little child who has become deaf will fade
rapidly away, un