View report page

Table 2 -The vulnerable ages for school refusal appear to be when starting school,
when changing from Infant to Junior School, and changing from Primary to Secondary
School. Most of our cases fell in the latter category, and many of them had been out
of school for some time before referral.

Some of these families had multiple associated factors.
In at least sixteen cases, there appeared to be a global family disorder and family
treatment was indicated. Ten families had four or more siblings, and in eight further
families, the child referred was an only child. In the thirteen cases where the eldest
child was referred, he or she did not come from a large family, and in the nine cases
where the youngest child was referred, again, significantly, none came from a large
family. In the large families, it seemed to be the children in the centre of the sibship
who appeared at risk.
Our figures are too small for further analysis to be useful, but an analysis of the
three year group would be more illuminating.
Conclusion
Once again this year, we have been handicapped in our work by the lack of provision
in this Borough for schools for maladjusted children, and other special facilities,
although the opening of the small autistic unit in the Borough at the beginning of the
year and the opening of the NHS In-Patient Unit for young adolescents at Hill End
Hospital, have been most helpful. The Day Unit at Daleham Gardens associated with
the Child Guidance Training Centre, continues to take a proportion of our patients
needing day treatment. In 1970, the only in-patient psychiatric unit for children available
to us was at Maudsley Hospital in South East London, which entailed a long
journey for the parents of children, who were hospitalised.
123