ho sees. But in order to bring this about, the early years of the child
must be carefully supervised, and his training calculated to fit him for
the tremendous task awaiting him, a task requiring the courage of a
Spartan, the wisdom of Solomon, and the patience of Job. Unfortunately,
the parents of blind children rarely understand the importance of this
early training. They are too often too absorbed in their own sorrow at
having a child so afflicted, too sure that loss of eyesight means loss
of mental vigor, to realize that their own attitude, their own
self-pity, may prove a greater handicap to the child than blindness
itself. If a child lives in a house where he is waited upon, and made to
feel that mere existence and the ability to eat and sleep are all that
may reasonably be expected of him, and that he must depend upon his
family for everything, he will grow up helpless, selfish and awkward,
and no amount of later training will entirely counteract the pernicious
effect produced in these early, formative years. When placed in school
with other children, he will be very sensitive to correction, and may
become morbid and unhappy, thus giving a wrong impression of the blind
in general. If, on the other hand, the child is taught to be
self-helpful, permitted to join in the work and play of other children,
made to feel that, with greater effort, he may do just what they do, he
will soon become cheerfully alert and hopefully alive to all the
possibilities of his peculiar position. It is true that natural
disposition has much to do with one's outlook on life, but cheerfulness
and a certain form of stoicism may be cultivated, and to the blind child
these qualities are absolutely essential if he is to attain any measure
of success in later life. It would be foolish for me to ignore the
difficulties and limitations in the path of everyone deprived of
eyesight, either in infancy or adult life, but I know that these very
limitations and difficulties may aid in forming a character whose quiet
strength and unfaltering courage can not fail to win the admiration and
co-operation of all who witness its tireless efforts for success. But in
order to achieve success, let me repeat that such training must begin at
the earliest possible date.

You may never have thought of it, but the blind child has no model, no
pattern. It must acquire everything. It learns nothing by imitation. The
normal child copies the gestures and mannerisms of it