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Handicapped Children and Children "At Risk".
The Council's Handicap and Observation Register of children with known
handicaps or "at risk" of developing a handicapping condition is compiled
from several sources, and all cases are reviewed at regular intervals.
The total number of children on the register at the end of the year was
943, compared with 823 for 1967.
The following is a summary of handicapped children who were on the
register at the end of the year:-
Handicapping Defects
Number of children
1968
1967
Defects of Vision
8
6
Defects of hearing
3
5
Cerebral Palsy, orthopaedic defects,
and defects of the central nervous system
34
41
Cardiac defects
24
37
Epilepsy
3
6
Mental retardation
13
23
Other handicaps
26
26
Multiple handicaps
36
47
TOTAL
147
191
Notification of Congenital Malformations.
(Corresponding figures for 1967 are shown in brackets).
During the year, 41 (56) children were notified to the RegistrarGeneral
as having congenital defects apparent at birth according to ,
information given by doctors and midwives on notifications of births.
These included 2(4) stillbirths; 7(6) children showing more than one
defect; and 2(2) with multiple abnormalities and gross defects.
The following is a summary of defects as classified by the
Registrar-General:-
Defects
Total number
1968
1967
Central nervous system
7
8
Eye and ear
Nil
1
Alimentary system
4
4
Heart and great vessels
1
4
Respiratory system
Nil
Nil
Urogenital system
6
5
Limbs
21
30
Other skeletal defects
3
2
Other systems and malformations
3
7
Multiple malformations
2
2
CERVICAL CYTOLOGY.
Throughout 1967, attendances at the Council's cytology clinics were
poor in spite of considerable local and national publicity and
improvement in the service offered by the more speedy reporting of
results.