Speech in Childhood
- Author:
George Seth, M.A..
B.bd., rh.JJ., and Douglas butane, M.D., F.R.S.E. Oxford University Press. 10/6. This is a book which effectively bridges the gap between the purely medical text book and those written from the educational point of view. Although somewhat too technical for the average teacher of ordinary subjects, it should prove extremely useful to the medical student and the Speech Therapist, and should be on the book shelf of every speech clinic.
The illustrations are excellent, clear and con- cise, and the tables on the development of speech (pages 84 and 85) and the development of words (page 97) are very useful for reference purposes; parents would do well to study these and compare them with the speech progress made by their own child.
One feels that the authors take too gloomy a view in regard to the treatment of speech defects in England, when they state that ” The subject has been largely neglected in this country.” Had they visited the schools they would find that speech training is given as a separate lesson in the majority of schools, and that most towns have at least one Speech Climc organised by the local Education authorities and one or more, run in connection with the local general or dental hospital.
The chapter on ” Hearing and Speech ” lS particularly interesting, as too often the question of deafness is neglected. The tests of hearing to be carried out with a tuning fork, are simple and sensible and can be used when it is im- possible to have the use of an expensive in’ strument such as the Audiometer; the authors give very sound advice when they say: ” spe’ cialised education should commence as soon as the deafness is detected, and it should never be delayed until what is known as school age (page 133). The importance of training the parents of the deaf child, is dealt with on page 143, and a set of rules for their guidance is given which should be of great assistance both to the parents and to the nursery school teacher.
The suggestion that special schools should be established for the hard-of-hearing child is a good one, although not very practical but the idea of having special classes in the ordinary school is being put into practice in a number of schools to-day.
The articulatory disorders of speech are ex- plained clearly in chapter 8, and some helpful suggestions as to the treatment of these disorders are given in this chapter, but in the reviewer 5 opinion the use of a glass rod as suggested on page 159 is not to be recommended, owing t? the danger of its breaking or of being bitten through by the child.
In chapter 10, Stuttering is dealt with more from the theoretical side than the practical, and the question of treatment dismissed rather too tightly; we cannot help feeling, moreover, that the suggestion that breathing exercises should be accompanied by arm movements is definitely tad. The relaxation treatment recommended, ls in itself excellent, but not sufficient to com- plete the cure, and the influence of imitation (page 187) is considered from the home only, mention being made of the child who copies ” a stammer at school.
The diagram on page 214 illustrating the organisation of Speech Clinics is excellent, as ls also the classifications of different types of clinics given on the following page.
The book as a whole makes interesting read- lng, and gives much useful information. K.E.J.
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