London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Croydon 1967
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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32
Improvements in the detection of pre-school handicapped children to
which reference was made in the 1966 Report (page 34) and which received
added impetus by the issue of a joint circular from the Department of Education
and Science (9/66) and the Ministry of Health (7/66), have brought
spectacular rewards in numerical terms. A total of 146 pre-school handicapped
children are now known to the Service, and their likely disabilities
are shown in Table 11. This represents an increase of 52% compared with
the previous year, and the improvement is noticeable in all age groups.
These statistics must be interpreted with extreme caution since it is often
not possible to assess the real needs of a handicapped child until he is
about to enter school. Certainly not all of the children recorded in the table
will require admission to special schools or units, and some will undoubtedly
be found to be mentally severely subnormal. In spite of these reservations,
the figures in Table 11 show possible trends and provide a reasonable basis
for future planning.
| Category | Age on the 31st December, 1967 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | 4 Years | 3 Years | 2 Years | 1 Year or less | |
| Vision Defect | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | - |
| Hearing Defect | - | - | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| *Mental Disorder | 5 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 12 |
| Epileptic | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Physically Handicapped or Delicate | 4 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 21 |
| 9 | 35 | 37 | 28 | 37 | |
*Includes educationally subnormal, mentally disturbed and unsuitable
for education in school.
Pre-school handicapped children are currently assessed annually from
the age of 2 years so that likely special educational needs can be determined.
This work will receive added impetus as the Committee's proposals
for nursery units of special education become established fact. Already
special education for the deaf and partially hearing is provided from the age
of 3 years, and the new school for educationally subnormal children, upon
which building work will shortly commence, includes accommodation for