Atlanta Daily World

Photo by Perry
LEADERS FOR SPEECH SCHOOL DRIVE MEET BENEFACTORS - Mrs. Nell Blackshear and Rev. R. Julian Smith, Chairman and Co-Chairman, get acquainted with two outstanding pupils.

Speech, Hearing Clinic Opens
Campaign For Operating Funds
BY HARMON G. PERRY

Friend! could you spare a dime that would pay the way for a speechless boy or girl learning to talk? Would you give a quarter that would finance the lip reading lessons of a deaf child? Would you contribute a dollar to help support an institution dedicated to the task of helping these same deaf and speechless children conquer their handicaps and develop happier lives?

These are the questions asked by the Pre-School Speech Clinic, as the financial drive, already underway, to assure its continued operation, sets its goal for the $20,000 mark.

ITS FUNCTION
To those not familiar with its function, the Pre-School Speech Clinic, Inc., is the only institution of its kind in the South where Negro children (and adults too) handicapped with deafness and speech difficulties receive special instructions designed to overcome their conditions.

Initiated by a group of young white women in 1952 who sought to do something about the acute need for the training of Negro children born with this condition, the school has grown from a one-teacher, twelve-pupil organization to its present status of 35 regular and 20 private students handled by a staff of three.

At the Speech Clinic children between the ages of two and ten years, who are unable to enroll in public school because of a speech defect, partial or complete deafness, go through a period of specialized training including lip reading, auditory, and sense training.

Most pupils, upon release show vast improvement in all areas, and, since the school offers conventional studies along with its special training, some have been able to enter public school and compete with their classmates.

STAFFED BY THREE
The school is headed by Mrs. Irene M. Asbury, a Spelman graduate who was especially trained for the job at Washington University in St. Louis.
She is assisted by Mrs. Marion Gary and Mrs. Marjorie Alexander.

Their training, devotion and understanding has been praised highly, and has resulted in the clinic's reputation as among the best in the nation. The school has been sanctioned by every authoritative agency in the city and state.

Without affiliation with the public schools or the Atlanta University System, on whose campus it is located, the Pre-School Speech Clinic stands alone, supported only by the contributions of organizations and individuals.

The aim of the present financial drive, chaired by Mrs. Nell Blackshear and co-chaired by Rev. R. Julian Smith, is to appeal to every possible avenue for contributions in the interest of the continuation of this much needed facility.

Individuals and organizations are asked to contact either of the co-chairmen or the Pre-School Speech Clinic, Atlanta University. Each contribution goes a long way toward helping a handicapped child escape the dilemma of a non-understanding society, and become a happy and useful citizen.