and a natural unwillingness to accept a truth, the possibility of which
must certainly have occurred to her long before.

If she could only realize that she need not feel downcast and
heavy-hearted by reason of her little one's imperfect hearing; if she
could only know that she need not look forward to a life for him
different from that of other children; if she could understand that
training and education can enable him to overcome to an extraordinary
degree the disadvantage of deafness, she would set about the task with
cheerfulness and hope, and if she knew that the sooner she began, the
better it would be for the little one, she would not stubbornly refuse
for so long to acknowledge even the possibility of deafness.




II

HOW SHALL THE MOTHER BEGIN HER PART OF THE WORK?


First of all, something like an inventory should be taken of the
faculties possessed by the child which he can use in working out his
problem. Has he good sight, normal smell, taste, muscular sense, and
memory? To what extent is his hearing impaired? Is there any possibility
of restoring it to normal acuteness, or of improving it, or of
preventing any further impairment?

The completeness with which these questions can be answered depends, to
a considerable extent, on his age and his physical condition. We will