For many years past, certainly fifteen or sixteen, the students and physicians who have followed my service at the Infirmary for Nervous Diseases have seen this systematic training given, and no doubt they received with some amusement the excitement about it as a new method of treatment when it was proclaimed in Europe two or three years ago.
The indication for this teaching appeared too obvious to publish or talk much about.

The patient has incooerdination; one, therefore, does one's best to teach him to co-ordinate his movements by small beginnings and by small increases.
The lessons may be given by the physician at first and be executed under his eye.

After a few days any tolerably intelligent patient should be able to carry them out alone, but still each new movement should be personally inspected to make sure that it is done correctly.
In patients in the first stage of ataxia the most striking result of incooerdination is the impairment of station.

We therefore begin with balancing lessons.

The patient is directed to stand at "Attention," head up and chest out, not looking at his feet, as the ataxic always wishes to do.