The Spur to Achievement

New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 657, 8 February 1952, Page 16

The Spur to Achievement

HEN the Cerebral Palsy Fellowship of New Zealand held a conference in Wellington recently they were only one of the many groups who convene in that city each year. Spastics didn’t warrant much notice from anyone-so it seemed. But after looking over their magazine, and the substantial document published after their last conference, The Listener decided to see what it was all about. Gathered in the conference room were nurses and teachers from cerebral palsy schools, doctors and specialists, and the spastics. There were also university students, factory. workers, public servants, teachers and other professional men and women. Into those fields, and many others, successful C.P.’s have gained admittance. These people had

come together to discuss methods of meeting the problems faced by spastics -problems which they had faced themselves and overcome. Day after day, for a week, they listened td specialists talk on various aspects of cerebral palsy and its cures, on psychological and physical aids, and on the many steps being taken to combat the worst effects of the disease, ; All in all, they seemed to have the situation well in hand. But their interest was directed to these subjects through an unselfish desire to pass on their own knowledge to those who had either not yet overcome the problems, or who were too young to have been faced by them. Looking around the room and_ hearing comments about what different C.P.’s had done, one could not but feel that the added difficulties imposed by cerebral palsy were apparently a spur to (continued on next page)

= {continued from previous page) achievement. D. M. Anderson, from Dunedin, himself a resident tutor in English, casually explained that the chairman, J. W. Blackwood, was a former Joynt Seroll winner, Both he and Paulette Leaning, of Auckland, plan to take courses, in education so that they may enter the special field of C.P. education. Quentin Angus, of Wellington, modestly explained that he still had a little way to go before becoming a fullfledged lawyer. Considering the effect of cerebral palsy, this accent on mental development is not surprising. Actually there are four types of cerebral palsy, of which spastic is only one, though it has come to be accepted as a common term, One common elament in these four, however, is that muscular co-ordination is reduced considerably. Few spastics, therefore, can compete equally with "normal" people in ‘fields that require only physical strength or skill. The success-sometimes brilliant--of cerebral palsy patients in intellectual work makes the opinion that spastics are not mentally equal to others seem absurd. Nor are these people lacking in creative talent, as J. Battensby, of Wellington, demonstrates. His position as illustrator, to the Correspondence School places him near the top of his field. There were’ at the conference many specialists in cerebral palsy treatment and education. Commenting on their observations of children at the special schools for’ Cerebral Palsied children, teachers agreed that one of the outstanding characteristics of such children was their extraordinary sense of humour. And from the remarks passed at the conference concerning the public attitude to spastics, it seemed that the children would need to maintain ‘their sense of humour throughout life. In fact. Mr. Battensby stated that to change public opinion about spastics would be to win half the battle against the problems which face the C.P.’s. Re-education of the public seemed to him to be as important as education of spastic children. But discussion of the latter subject outweighed the other-it could be accomplished by spastics themseives, errr er rr 9

whereas a changed public attitude would have to come from people who were aware of the true situation. Another problem discussed at length at the conference was the psychological one which blocks the path to adjustment and success for so many spastics. All present agreed that education was instrumental in giving spastics courage and confidence to compete with unafflicted people. Through experimentation and research, and largely from experience, C.P. educationists have accumulated and perfected methods for their particular work. They insisted, however that teaching spastics required different methods, rather than different subjectmatter or standards. Children with cerebral palsy revealed remarkable powers of observation, they said. Their greatest need can be met-say spastics who have "overcome the handicaps of the diseaseby the discovery that "Acceptance is the keynote of adjustment." This idea, which stands now as a sort of motto for the fellowship, is said to involve, not a falling back before the difficulties imposed by cerebral palsy, but self-willed mastery of them. This important aspect of the spastic’s attitude was brought out most forcefully by Brian Knight, B.A., Dip.Ed., in an article made available to all C.P.’s in New Zealand through the N.Z. Spastic. a small magazine excellently edited by Mr. Battensby. "Our ultimate goal is spiritual, not physical," said Mr. Knight, "s§ that in the main issue you are not handicapped. The horse that wins a race with a heavy weight is a better horse than the one with a light weight." When the conference in Wellington had closed, representatives went home to various corners of New Zealand, there to spread among members of their fellowship news of decisions made, plans laid out and suggestions passed on. It was evident, watching them that theirs had not been a meeting of patients discussing latest operation wounds. Their regenerate outlook and ambitious actions marked them off as people with more important things to do. One of them perhaps explained it when he said, "It. is only in the failure to find and achieve a life purpose that unhappiness will be found." s%