The Abendberg, an Alpine retreat : founded by Dr. Guggenbühl for the treatment of infant cretins / by L.G., Geneva ; with an introduction by John Coldstream, M.D.

  • Gaussen, Louis, 1790-1863.
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Abendberg, an Alpine retreat : founded by Dr. Guggenbühl for the treatment of infant cretins / by L.G., Geneva ; with an introduction by John Coldstream, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    used : the sound addressed to the dull auditory nerve of the Cretin must be loud, else it makes no impres¬ sion. The child is then taught or coaxed to imi¬ tate the motions of the lips and tongue required to give utterance to the sound roared into the ear, and by repetition it learns to connect the sound it hears with the attempt to make it; then it tries to arti¬ culate, and so, by slow degrees, it gets through the vowels. The eye and the sense of touch are then exercised in connexion with the results of the first series of lessons. The letters are presented in a large form, carved in wood : the child handles them and learns to associate the sound with the letter. Words are formed and learned in the same manner. Then the pupil advances to the application of words to objects. Figures of household utensils are laid before the child and named ; by and bye he places the articles themselves upon their pictures. When much difficulty is experienced in getting the atten¬ tion fixed in this way, the child is taken into a dark room, and is shown the forms of letters and objects pourtrayed on the wall by means of phosphorus. The illuminated figures sometimes arrest the atten¬ tion more effectually than anything else; and a beginning having once been made, the progress is steady. The senses of smell and taste are also in constant need of cultivation. Some Cretin children