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WORD-BLINDNESS
824
by a weak agglutinin or incomplete antibody are made to agglutinate strongly by mixing the washed sensitised
(disability and left-eyedness, while more recent studies by !’ Schonell 25 suggest that the manual-ocular theory of The cells with an anti-human 4disability is an over-simplification of the problem. It now appears that inactive serum, besides increasing 4exact nature of the more serious forms of reading . the activity of an antibody so as to cause clumping of is still in doubt, but the need for early recognidisability 1tion and remedial treatment of the educationally subsensitised cells, as in Wiener’s so-called conglutination test, has other effects. Boorman, Dodd, and Morgan 18:normal pupil has been recognised by the Education have used compatible human sera, diluted 1 : 3, in placeAct, 1944, and closer observation of these cases may clear of saline as a diluent for the iso-agglutinin in iso-agglu- .up some of the obscurities. tinin titrations. When naturally occurring iso-aggluTRAINING IN RHEUMATIC DISEASE tinins were thus titrated the titre was found to be the same as when saline was used as diluent ; but with FoR the first time since 1938 the Empire Rheumatism immune iso-agglutinins the degree of agglutination was Council last week held a full meeting. It was pointed greater when the serum was employed and in’, most out that an effective national plan for the treatment of cases there was a definite increase in the agglutinin rheumatic disorders, which is now in a highly promising titre. This phenomenon in some respects resembles stage of development," will call for strenuous work in Wiener’s conglutination, and the factor responsible in the education of both the profession and the public. the inactive serum in both cases is heat-stable. Wiener Lord Horder, in delivering his annual report as chairman, thinks that the success of his test depends on avoiding pointed out that the plan must not be hampered for lack the introduction of saline into the mixture. The of practitioners to staff the new centres that will be set difference may lie in the observation of Boorman and his up. On the long-term view education of the profession colleagues " that sera varied markedly in their power to must be the task, primarily, of the university medical amplify the immune agglutinin." These workers go on teaching schools ; and he welcomed the example set to suggest that the phenomenon they have noted may by Bristol University and the West "London Hospital. prove valuable in differentiating natural from immune a comprehensive But there is also immediate need of antibodies. Such antibodies as Rh are always immune, series of postgraduate courses to give a selected number but antibodies such as anti-A, anti-A!. anti-B, and of practitioners special training in the diagnosis and anti-O have hitherto had to be judged as natural or treatment of rheumatic disease," which clearly must not immune on circumstantial evidence. be restricted to a London centre. A beginning has been made this autumn, and extension of the work will have a WORD-BLINDNESS in 1946. At the same time public opinion high has been aroused : " no longer is rheumatism regarded as INCREASING attention has been given in the last few a misfortune inevitable because of our climate, nor as years to the education of illiterate adults. The causes, something which is comparatively trifling in the category and of treatment of have remedies, principles illiteracy of the ills of mankind." The Council, whose address been discussed by Burt,19 and backwardness in reading is Tavistock House North, Tavistock Square, London, among men in the Army by Wal1.2O The War Office, appeals for renewed support of its very necessary realising that illiterate soldiers could not be fully efficient WC1, efforts. and might be a liability, undertook measures to correct their defect. In 1943 a committee was appointed as a re-’ AT LEAST FIVE THOUSAND sult of which basic education courses for illiterate soldiers IT is now an open secret that a month or two ago the were established in each command. Specially prepared medical departments of the Services were invited to readers (English Parade, books I and m, and Instructor’s review their plans so as to expedite the release of doctors Pamphlet) were used. Only men who were totally from the Forces. The startlingly large number which illiterate were sent to the courses, yet the results were they were asked to return to civil life by Christmas may astonishingly good.21 not be fully forthcoming ; but the Minister of Health, as to the The serious handicap of word-blindness in our parliamentary columns, is now able to reported school-child, and the word-blind child’s stark terror of tell us that at least 5000 serving medical officers will being called on to read aloud and reveal to the whole have been released by the end of the year. The rate of class his inability to do so, are vividly described by Hill.22 medical demobilisation, after a slow start, has thus become He had the personal experience of being unable to read with that of the United States Army, comparable up to the age of fifteen years. " The lifting of this which had released 13,320 doctors, from a peak strength handicap," he recalls, " raised me from being dearly of 45,000, by the middle of last month. (Our own peak bottom at school to passing with ease top into a branch strength was roughly a third of this.) A sound feature of the Civil Service where everyone who passed in below of the Government’s policy is that it aims at reducing me had taken an honours degree at Oxford or Cambridge." the ratio of doctors to total strength, in all three Services, It is unfortunate that he does not tell us how he overcame 2 per 1000. All will agree to a definite his disability, nor does he give evidence to support his that efficient figure-about and sufficient care for the Services is imview that word-blindness can be overcome in almost portant in peace as in war, and the figure finally chosen every case. will no doubt need further thought. But wehave now It is evident that there are multiple causes for delay become aware that it is equally important to provide in learning to read and spell, and that distinction needs efficient and sufficient care for the civilian population ; to be drawn between backward readers and the extremely and so long as a shortage of doctors prevents their rare condition of specific reading disability. Orton 23 having this care we shall be unable to look with equaattributed the latter to failure to train the brain to work nimity on any Service that does not make full and exclusively from the leading or dominant hemisphere. economical use of the medical resources placed at its Macmeeken 24 found a significant relation between reading
globulin.
"
priority
"
"
disposal.
18. Boorman, K. E., Dodd, B. E., Morgan, W. T. J. Nature, Lond. 1945, 156, 663. 19. Burt, C. Brit. J. educ. Psychol. 1945, 15, 20. 20. Wall, W. D. Ibid., p. 28. 21. Ment. Hlth, 1944, 5, 33. 22. Hill, R. Brit. J. Ophthal. September, 1945, p. 467. 23. Orton, S. T. Reading, Writing and Speech Problems in Children, 24.
London, 1937. Macmeeken, M. Ocular Dominance in Relation to Developmental Aphasia, London, 1939.
25.
Schonell,
F. J.
1942.
Backwardness in the Basic Subjects, London,
RECENT elections to the associate membership of the French Academy of Medicine include : Prof. E. D. Adrian, OM, Prof. C. H. Best, FRS, Sir Henry Dale, OM, and Sir Alexander
Fleming,
FRS.
by a weak agglutinin or incomplete antibody are made to agglutinate strongly by mixing the washed sensitised
(disability and left-eyedness, while more recent studies by !’ Schonell 25 suggest that the manual-ocular theory of The cells with an anti-human 4disability is an over-simplification of the problem. It now appears that inactive serum, besides increasing 4exact nature of the more serious forms of reading . the activity of an antibody so as to cause clumping of is still in doubt, but the need for early recognidisability 1tion and remedial treatment of the educationally subsensitised cells, as in Wiener’s so-called conglutination test, has other effects. Boorman, Dodd, and Morgan 18:normal pupil has been recognised by the Education have used compatible human sera, diluted 1 : 3, in placeAct, 1944, and closer observation of these cases may clear of saline as a diluent for the iso-agglutinin in iso-agglu- .up some of the obscurities. tinin titrations. When naturally occurring iso-aggluTRAINING IN RHEUMATIC DISEASE tinins were thus titrated the titre was found to be the same as when saline was used as diluent ; but with FoR the first time since 1938 the Empire Rheumatism immune iso-agglutinins the degree of agglutination was Council last week held a full meeting. It was pointed greater when the serum was employed and in’, most out that an effective national plan for the treatment of cases there was a definite increase in the agglutinin rheumatic disorders, which is now in a highly promising titre. This phenomenon in some respects resembles stage of development," will call for strenuous work in Wiener’s conglutination, and the factor responsible in the education of both the profession and the public. the inactive serum in both cases is heat-stable. Wiener Lord Horder, in delivering his annual report as chairman, thinks that the success of his test depends on avoiding pointed out that the plan must not be hampered for lack the introduction of saline into the mixture. The of practitioners to staff the new centres that will be set difference may lie in the observation of Boorman and his up. On the long-term view education of the profession colleagues " that sera varied markedly in their power to must be the task, primarily, of the university medical amplify the immune agglutinin." These workers go on teaching schools ; and he welcomed the example set to suggest that the phenomenon they have noted may by Bristol University and the West "London Hospital. prove valuable in differentiating natural from immune a comprehensive But there is also immediate need of antibodies. Such antibodies as Rh are always immune, series of postgraduate courses to give a selected number but antibodies such as anti-A, anti-A!. anti-B, and of practitioners special training in the diagnosis and anti-O have hitherto had to be judged as natural or treatment of rheumatic disease," which clearly must not immune on circumstantial evidence. be restricted to a London centre. A beginning has been made this autumn, and extension of the work will have a WORD-BLINDNESS in 1946. At the same time public opinion high has been aroused : " no longer is rheumatism regarded as INCREASING attention has been given in the last few a misfortune inevitable because of our climate, nor as years to the education of illiterate adults. The causes, something which is comparatively trifling in the category and of treatment of have remedies, principles illiteracy of the ills of mankind." The Council, whose address been discussed by Burt,19 and backwardness in reading is Tavistock House North, Tavistock Square, London, among men in the Army by Wal1.2O The War Office, appeals for renewed support of its very necessary realising that illiterate soldiers could not be fully efficient WC1, efforts. and might be a liability, undertook measures to correct their defect. In 1943 a committee was appointed as a re-’ AT LEAST FIVE THOUSAND sult of which basic education courses for illiterate soldiers IT is now an open secret that a month or two ago the were established in each command. Specially prepared medical departments of the Services were invited to readers (English Parade, books I and m, and Instructor’s review their plans so as to expedite the release of doctors Pamphlet) were used. Only men who were totally from the Forces. The startlingly large number which illiterate were sent to the courses, yet the results were they were asked to return to civil life by Christmas may astonishingly good.21 not be fully forthcoming ; but the Minister of Health, as to the The serious handicap of word-blindness in our parliamentary columns, is now able to reported school-child, and the word-blind child’s stark terror of tell us that at least 5000 serving medical officers will being called on to read aloud and reveal to the whole have been released by the end of the year. The rate of class his inability to do so, are vividly described by Hill.22 medical demobilisation, after a slow start, has thus become He had the personal experience of being unable to read with that of the United States Army, comparable up to the age of fifteen years. " The lifting of this which had released 13,320 doctors, from a peak strength handicap," he recalls, " raised me from being dearly of 45,000, by the middle of last month. (Our own peak bottom at school to passing with ease top into a branch strength was roughly a third of this.) A sound feature of the Civil Service where everyone who passed in below of the Government’s policy is that it aims at reducing me had taken an honours degree at Oxford or Cambridge." the ratio of doctors to total strength, in all three Services, It is unfortunate that he does not tell us how he overcame 2 per 1000. All will agree to a definite his disability, nor does he give evidence to support his that efficient figure-about and sufficient care for the Services is imview that word-blindness can be overcome in almost portant in peace as in war, and the figure finally chosen every case. will no doubt need further thought. But wehave now It is evident that there are multiple causes for delay become aware that it is equally important to provide in learning to read and spell, and that distinction needs efficient and sufficient care for the civilian population ; to be drawn between backward readers and the extremely and so long as a shortage of doctors prevents their rare condition of specific reading disability. Orton 23 having this care we shall be unable to look with equaattributed the latter to failure to train the brain to work nimity on any Service that does not make full and exclusively from the leading or dominant hemisphere. economical use of the medical resources placed at its Macmeeken 24 found a significant relation between reading
globulin.
"
priority
"
"
disposal.
18. Boorman, K. E., Dodd, B. E., Morgan, W. T. J. Nature, Lond. 1945, 156, 663. 19. Burt, C. Brit. J. educ. Psychol. 1945, 15, 20. 20. Wall, W. D. Ibid., p. 28. 21. Ment. Hlth, 1944, 5, 33. 22. Hill, R. Brit. J. Ophthal. September, 1945, p. 467. 23. Orton, S. T. Reading, Writing and Speech Problems in Children, 24.
London, 1937. Macmeeken, M. Ocular Dominance in Relation to Developmental Aphasia, London, 1939.
25.
Schonell,
F. J.
1942.
Backwardness in the Basic Subjects, London,
RECENT elections to the associate membership of the French Academy of Medicine include : Prof. E. D. Adrian, OM, Prof. C. H. Best, FRS, Sir Henry Dale, OM, and Sir Alexander
Fleming,
FRS.