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115
Highlands Hospital, Formerly many of these children had lost two
three half days a week travelling to hospital for physiotherapy.
The speech therapists, too, have continued their work with several
difficult and interesting cases referred to in Miss Cames report.
Speech Therapy
Miss Came, Senior Speech Therapist reports as follows:-
"The accompanying table shows that the majority of children
suffering from dyslalia were referred before six years of age.
This satisfactory result is largely due to teachers recognition
that speech therapy frequently assists educational progress.
In stammering, early treatment has also proved the most
effective. The speech therapists aim to prevent (a) the fixing
of early speech non fluency through the parents well intentioned
but ill informed interference, and then labelling the child "a
stammerer"; Cb) the formation of abnormal secondary symptoms, due
to anxiety and increasing awareness of speech difference, causing
the disorder to become self perpetuating.
It is therefore most important that all concerned with small
children should refer those with any speech defect or del ayed speech
to the speech therapist as early as possible.
During 1956, treatment was carried out in the various groups
on the following lines
1. Pre school children. Treatment was mainly indirect,
through talks with the mother. This preventive
work has proved of particular value in cases of
primary stammering. Improvement is more rapid, and
final recovery more complete.
2. Infant school children. These formed the largest
group treated. Many were discharged as normal
speakers, before entry to the junior school.
3. Older children. These were fewer in number, but
their difficulties slower in responding to treatment.
Work with the older stammerer aims to reduce anxiety
and increase insight.
4. Children with severe speech abnormality. sometimes
associated with such disabilities as cerebral palsy.
These are treated at Vale Road School for the Physically
Handicapped. In all cases the improvement resulting
from speech therapy has been measurable, although it
is inevitably achieved far more slowly."