The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, March 10, 1932, Page 12

UVAOVUVAPRATTO AGRA PELE AEE ay 0A INL Ts = = = = os = = = mazing [ducation of “Jesse Liston: LIND and DEAF With only two of the five senses, this “boy without a chance” has learned to read, write, talk and find enjoyment in life e ORN into the world without the abil- ity to see or hear, Jesse Liston has reached the age of 18 with a remark- able triumph over his handicaps. Apparently hopelessly cut off from the world about him, he has taken advantage of the care- ful training given him by skilled teachers, so that today he can read, write, carry on conver- sations with his friends and get a surprising amount of enjoyment out of life. Not since the story of Helen Keller has there been so amazing a tale of victory over the curses of darkness and silence. Jesse Liston’s story has unfolded during the last few years at the Indiana State School for the Deaf, where he is one of the 435 pupils. Born at Logansport, Ind., he had only two of the five senses—the sense of touch and the sense of taste. He could neither see, hear nor smell, For the first 10 years of his life he existed rather than lived. His parents tried repeatedly to get him into state schools for the handi- capped, and failed. UTHORITIES at the school for the deaf pointed out that he was blind, and authori- ties at the school for the blind pointed out that he was deaf. Neither school felt itself equipped to care for him. So he stayed at home and got very little help. Finally his pitiable plight was brought to the attention of the then governor of Indiana, War- ten T. McCray. Governor McCray summoned Superintend- ent O, M. Pittenger of the State School for the Deaf at Indianapolis to the chief executive's office at the state house. He urged that, if at all possible, something be done for the Liston YY Superintendent Pittenger went to Logansport to see the parents and visit the boy at his home. He found the 10-year-old child hopelessly in the dark and the parents, although cherishing him as most handicapped children are cherished, at a loss to know how to aid his development. So the boy was brought to Indianapolis and started his career at the school. Then, as in the case of Helen Keller, the blind boy who cannot hear came into contact with a great teacher and self-sacrificing friend. URING the last eight years Miss Nettie New- ell has devoted her life to him. She gave up her deaf classes at the school and be- came the boy's constant com- panion, as well as teacher. The following item from He sprawled in front of a ventitator, HUVEC CNT MTT TTT FNTTOTAT carer Superintendent O. M. Pittenger, of the Indi- ana State Schcol for the Deaf . . . who says, “Today Jesse is a very happy boy. Sketches by PAUL KROESEN One of the most fascinating ex- periments proved to be the tracing of steam pipes to their source at the ra- diator and learning that they can be cold, warm, and intensely hot. Today the blind boy can go any- where in the group of seven buildings at the school and about the many-acre campus unassisted. Oftentimes his teacher will send him from the second- floor classroom down to the superintend- ent’s office with a note for Mr. Pit- tenger. None of the young lady assistants, who guard the entry to the inner sanc- tum of the superintendent's office, ever gets a hand on that note. It is only surrendered to the superintendent after Jesse has fully established proper iden- tity through his highly developed sense of touch. FAERE is what Superintendent Pit- tenger says of the boy's progress since the date of the diary entry quoted above: “The lad as we know him today is a very happy boy. He knows that he comes to school for a purpose, and he is eager to learn. His honzon grows larger very slowly, for his progress de- pends so much upon his personal expe- riences. “His sense of geography began with a trip we made with him to Terre Haute, Ind. He had his first under- standing of distance in miles after this trip from Indianapolis. “Miss Newell brought the idea of distance home to him in the following manner: “First they walked from the school- room to the chapel and counted their steps. Then they walked to the neigh- borhood barber shop, counting their steps, and learning the dis- tance of a block. From this a mile’s dis- tance was built up in city blocks. The great Miss Newell's diary gives opening and closing it with a ven- distance of 70 miles some idea of the beginning: BEGIEE 2 sn nega fhe vibrations to Terre Haute soon “I could not get his inter- est or attention, so I contin- ued letting him lie sprawled on the floor in front of the wall ventilator, opening and closing it with a vengeance. His hands and face were all smeared with soot and dirt from his inves- tigations of it. He was enjoying the vibrations of that ventilator upon his body. 1! was endur- ing the pistol-like shots of it in my ear.” Such explorations were extended for weeks. uM became quite clear to him “When he knows where one direction lies he can point to the other three as well as to the cardinal points.” popay Jesse has a vocabulary of 2000 words at least and he understands much more than he is-able to express, although he is constantly striving for greater expression. (Copyright, 1932, by EveryWeek Magazine—Printed in Jesse can operate his type- writer skillfully now. co NTA Jesse Liston as he looks today . reaching out to “feel the sunshine.” He operates a typewriter, reads Braille, talks by using the sign language for the deat and reads lips by touching the mouth of the speaker with his fingertips. This lip reading is best carried on by the boy with his teacher, the superintendent and those with whom he is accustomed to converse. But he can read the lips of a perfect stranger and did so when the author of this article visited the institution. An example of the logical functioning of a good mind has. often been demonstrated by the pathetically handicapped boy. ‘When he was quite small his typewriter needed to be fixed. It was then that he dem- onstrated that he understood that the superin- tendent was “boss of the school.” ~ After much trying, he finally conveyed to Miss Newell that he wanted to call the super- MUHA AULA oe ee MMO EOUTONACUTOOTOL AUDEN TAT TTT intendent, give him the typewriter and have him take it away in his automobile for repairing so that, he could use it again. Weather, time and dates all seem to fas- cinate the lad immensely. He has an alarm clock by which he tells time through feeling out the position of the hands. ON fine days he spends much time basking in the sunshine with his hands stretched forth to “‘get the feel of it,” as his teacher explains. Early in his instruction he learned to say “It is raining,” or “‘It is not raining,” “It is snowing” or “It is not snowing,” and similar expressions. Again he forcibly demonstrated his logic when he went to the washroom and rushed back to Miss Newell and spelled out franti- cally: “Tt is not soaping!"’ In other words, the soap was gone. Jesse lives with the other students in the boys’ dormitory and gets along well with them. All use the sign language and he car- ries on conversations by feeling their hands. “‘Seven years in school have changed him from a restless, nervous, never quiet child to a poised and happy little gentleman,” Miss Newell relates with just pride. es devoted teacher who ean light into a dark life - Miss Nettie Newell, who has been Jesse Liston’s teacher and friend. “He finds joy from some source day by day. In the late spring of last year a teacher came into the schoolroom and held a large bunch of lilacs close enough to him that he might reach out and feel them. The flowers stirred him emotionally, as the teacher expressed it. Tender smiles played over his countenance and his eyes filled with tears. No, we need not pity Jesse. He lives in a world’ of unmarred beauty.” Miss Newell's diary contains a complete record of her pupil's progress. some particularly startling advance has been made it means a red-letter day and is recorded at length. One of these red-letter days was when Jesse U.S. A) 4 be xg -eaaMUAALUAALA LUAU ALUN LUA LA Jesse “hears” what is said to him by touching the lips of the speaker with his fingertips, . . . . He can lips of a perfect stranger. said his first word. It was “arm.” Most amazing of all is the fact that he actually spoke the word. That was his first year at the school. But due to his advanced age, hope of teach- ing him to use the power of speech to any great extent had to be abandoned. This is explained by Professor Pittenger as being due to the fact that deaf-mutes are taught to talk largely by watching the facial expression of their teachers and learning the method of controlling the lips. They practice speaking before mirrors, These avenues of visual instruction were of course closed forever for the little blind boy. S° he has to content himself with the sign language for the deaf. He has demonstrated his prowess in digital talking to such an extent that he is really adept at public speaking. His public usually cannot understand his lectures until they are interpreted by his teacher, for generally his speeches are demonstrations before teacher groups and wel- fare gatherings. He has appeared on the platform at general sessions of the Indiana teachers’ institutes, which draw the largest attendance of any educational gathering in North Lately he has gone with Dr. Pittenger to various luncheon club meetings in Hoosier cities and expresses great enjoyment at the oppor- tunity to appear in public, Such a visit to the Lions’ Club at Richmond, Ind., recently, resulted in the club’s purchase of especially con- structed spectacles for the youth. His eyes bulge and are the only feature which detracts from a perfectly nor- mal, rather handsome, and exceed- ingly calm countenance. HS. typewriter was presented to him by the Elks’ Club at Lo gansport. During the vacation periods at the school he always returns to his home accompanied by his parents. Then they have all the joy that comes to any parent who has children away at school, Professor Pittenger is wary about drawing any genetal jusions from the Liston boy's case, but he does feel that it has: been demon- strated that many difficulties are en- vironmental, rather than hereditary. “Our bad habits are formed through our senses and our worries come to us because of things we have heard or seen, or otherwise expe- “Here is a youth of 18, who has not had the normal experiences of pris calle ede canal of ang cated fr at bem: ut are some such handicapped persons, children and adults, in the Ynited States today, Dr. Pittenger said. C10 ~+MNAUALELOARUASU UAE EO SAOREN ENA AA ~»oigl SEAL HEEFT RAFREEEEERMALUOOGEEO AREAL | HEAUUEU0O NE VAM UAE RANA EEE a) ® ee ome ~