Disability : a new history. Brave poor things. 9/10.

Radio documentary presented by Peter White entitled 'Brave poor things'. Discusses how the history of disabled children in the 19th is often seen through propoganda and rarely the authentic voice of the child. Joanna Bourke, Professor of History, Birkbeck College, London, looks at 19th century evangelical Christian propoganda leaflets which often use a child's voice. The disabled child was a powerful religous symbol for Victorians and this continued in fiction of the time. Julie Anderson, from the University of Kent, discusses the types of disability that were common in children. Infant mortality was high, as was infanticide due to disability, which meant there may have been fewer children with obvious congenital disabilities. Since, blind and deaf children were more difficult to spot at birth, their disabilities became a particular concern in the Victorian period and they were considered to be morally at risk from not being able to hear or read the word of God. Charities saw it as their task to save them. One such was the Guild of the Brave Poor Things. Mike Mantin, has explored the history of this charity. Julie Anderson discusses the way these charities have left a legacy in the way disabled people are seen as needy, dependent and grateful for help. Even with the bias, charity records are the best source of information on how disabled children were treated. Two letters are read from children, sent from the Cambrian Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Swansea. One was actually dictated for the child by an adult, the other, more genuine one, was found unsent amongst the principal's personal papers.