Jack looked at Ivy and emotion swept over them like a wave. They hugged each other and wept. They hugged Ann and the boys. They stayed on the floor crying and laughing at the same time, getting her to say more and more things and she responded magnificently. But before she said each word she blew down her nose. The doctor had been so right. It had been a prelude to this magnificent evening.
In place of the walking vegetable they had so feared they now had a daughter who could think and talk. True, her words would not be easily understood by anyone outside the family for a long time to come. But that was nothing.
They all threw themselves into encouraging her speech. Within days she was whispering such thind as "drink, water, " "coat on" My chair" and many others. They bought little picture books and spent countless hours going over the objects with her and getting her to say their names. They discovered she only responded when the words were whispered to her. Anything said in a normal voice met with a blank stare.
Then as suddenly as it began, her talking stopped.
She refused to acknowledge them and spent days just walking about the house, looking at the objects that had for so long fascinated her, but she refused to utter a sound. They were sure it was a milder form of one of her "moods" and they left her very much on her own. The suspense was dreadful. They wanted so much to help her push ahead with her talking and learning, but she had left them for the moment and there was nothing they could do about it.
Then she came back to them, having once again forgotten nothing they had taught her. She was full of energy and quite tired them out. It was as though during these withdrawal spells she bad become recharged.
They tried to encourage her to put more sound into her words, and in fact it was television that came to their aid. They noticed that she would start humming some catchy tune she heard on a programme, and she would hum quite loudly. It was amazing. She had the ability to retain a tun, even though she had only heard it once. At these moments they would raise their voice slightly from the now-acepted whisper and she would repaet the words in a slight louder tone. And so it went on until she was quite audible to everyone.
Jack and Ivy were beside themselves with delight and decided to take the plunge. they applied for an interview with the local education authority. It was time Ann received some kind of formal education.
Eventually, after weeks of waiting, they were summoned to take Ann to the education authority doctor. They had spent the time encouraging her with her speech, helping her to identify objects from her little books and generally preparing her for the ordeal ahead. They knew the interview wouldn't be easy and they were filled with apprehension when the great arrived.
There fears were well-grounded.
The doctor was a busy man and didn't appear in the least interested in Jack and Ivy's story of Ann. He wanted to find out her capabilities for himself, he told them. First he gave her a full physical examination.
Then he produced a number of coloured pitcture cards and handed them to the little girl and told her to identify them. It was a hopeless failure. She only opened her mouth once and said one of the pictures was of a train. The doctor was peremptory. "It's an engine" he said. He turned to Jack and Ivy and told them that she had failed the test and there could be no question of her getting a place in one of the schools. Ther couple were on the verge of tears. Years of struggle and heartbreak were being washed away in a fifteen-minute interview by a man who didn't even want to hear them tell of the marvellous progress their child had made.
It was at that moment Jack broke the habit of a lifetime. He lost his temper. He told the doctor, implored him, to phone the child psychiatrist at the hospital. Reluctantly ge agreed. After what felt like a lifetime he trturned. Their hearts leapt up. His attitude obviously changed. He was full of praise for what they had done. But their hopes were quickly dashed. His attitude may ahve changed, but not his opinion. He made it obvious that Ann was not ready for a place at one of the council's schools.
Although he told them that their application would be considered and he would send for them it it wassuccesfull, they left the office with a heavy heaert.They knew that he would not recommend Ann for a place. They waited for three weeks, but still there was no news and Jack decided to take matters into his own hands. He had vowed that if Ann made the breakthrough with her speach he would have her educated. She had made the breakthrough and he was going to get her educated even if he had to go through the back door and cut the red tape away with a hatchet.
He had a freind on the council and told him of the interview. He invited the man to come to his home and see just what Ann could do. The councillor had known the family for a number of years, but had not seen Ann for about two years. He was astounded at the progress she had made and asked Jack for a photograph of her. He took it away with and said he would be in touch. A week later they received a letter from the Director of Education saying that Ann was to be given a "trial" at a small school for the educationally subnormal.
They were not to learn for many years from their friend, just before he died in fact, that he had gone straight to the Medical Officer of Health with picture of Ann. He threw it on his desk and asked him what he thought of her. The Medical Officer thought her a beautiful child, "Is she yours?" he asked. "No" said the councillor. "She is yours, and you are neglecting her".
Then he explained about Ann. For an hour they talked about the little girl and the fight her parents had put up to give her a life. Now the chance of an education would slip away if something wasn't done rapidly. They contacted the psychiatrist and the Director of Education who agreed that the child could have a trial at the school.
In his letter to Jack the Director of Education suggested that they should take Ann along to the school and meet the headmaster and have a full discussion with him.
They didn't waste any time. They made an appointment to see him the very next day.
That meeting turned out to be the beginning of a wonderful friendship that had lasted through the years. The headmaster knew quite a bit about Ann. They psychiatrist had explained as much as he could about her. But before he had even seen her he had decided to take her on at his little school. It was only years afterwards that he was to tell Jack and Ivy that the original trial period was for two weeks only. He was asked by the Medical Officer of Health to assess the child and report back. But when he saw the parents and the enthusiasm they had for their daughter's capabilities he kept them ignorant of that fact.
He told them on that first momentous meeting that he wanted to "set his stall out". Anns education would have to be a comvined operation. Jack and Ivy were only too willing to put themselves under his command and agreed to follow everything he suggested for her education. He was that kind of man. Remarkable. His name was George Glover.
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