they are retarded in all classroom stu
dies. Low mentality cases are not cov
ered by this program, although future
work with this group is strongly recom
mended.
Education for the crippled children
at the Doernbecker and Shriners hos
pitals and for those pupils at the State
Tuberculosis hospitals is provided en
tirely from the funds for this program.
The new philosophy of educating
handicapped students aims to segregate
them as little as possible from the nor
mal student relationships of public
schools and the intimacies of their
homes. For this reason, the program is
carried on as much as possible through
the school districts. When special home
tutoring is provided or talking book
records or large type books are pur
chased to teach students in their home
environment, extra amounts are neces
sarily expended by school boards.
School districts are reimbursed from the
state fund for these additional costs up
to a maximum of one and one-half
times the per capita cost of educating
a normal student in the district. About
a dozen blind pupils have graduated
from public high schools— some with
scholastic honors.
One of the chief responsibilities of
the program is that of teacher train
ing, which has been given in county
wide institutes of elementary teachers,
study classes in city school systems and
summer school courses. More than 4150
teachers were given instruction during
the first year and a half of training.
Between July 1, 1943 and December
31, 1944, 4878 certificates were issued
for children sufficiently handicapped
to require special records for whom re
imbursements were made to school dis
tricts. Many other pupils were inter
viewed and helped by supervisors and
specialized teachers but for whom no
special records were needed. O f 1413
children certified for special instruc
tion in the school year of 1943-44, 45
per cent were returned to normal ed
ucational status with no further need
for special services. Others, o f course,
must be helped over a period of years.
Considering the individuals helped, it
seems an humanitarian policy to provide
this assistance program. For the state,
it is infinitely wiser to produce inde
pendent, adjusted members of society,
ready for the productive training of the
state Vocational Rehabilitation agency,
than to accept life-long public charges.
Staffs of the various agencies collab
orating in the program are eagerly look
ing forward toward next summer when
they will pioneer in a new field of edu
cational rehabilitation. A type of sum
mer session previously untried will
bring together children with hearing
defects who need lip-reading instruc
tion, children with severe speech diffi
culties which cannot be handled in pub
lic schools, and those with extreme
reading disabilities. The children will
be housed and taught at the State
School for the D eaf where their entire
environment can be controlled and all
of their efforts directed toward adjust
ment and correction. Dr. Bain feels that
it is more the degree of a child’s ad
justment than the degree of his handi
cap which ultimately determines his
ability for satisfactory living. In addi
tion to specialists in correction, recrea
tion teachers will advance social ad
justment by teaching crafts and group
play. Isolated by their handicaps, these
children must often be taught to play
as well as to read and speak.
In summary o f the success of the
program, D r. Bain states that "not all
children succeed in adjusting them
selves but surprisingly few fail.” Often
they are invaluable inspiration to their
so-called "more fortunate” but often
less ambitious and appreciative class
mates.