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Each child is regarded as an individual and considerable thought
is given not only to the development of his/her full potential within
a group situation but also to the means whereby a child can be
assisted to overcome, as far as possible, its lack of ability.
Activity Methods, which are applied throughout the centre,
enable each child to learn and progress at its own level of ability
and the problems of the brighter child being held back by the
less able or the slower child, through constant failure, being frustrated
and intractable, are therefore eliminated.
Instruction is designed to enable a child to take its place in
the community and, to this end, lessons are planned dealing with
'real life situations'. In addition to the basic skills necessary for
employment in senior or industrial centres, the elements of personal
hygiene and the simple social graces are also inculcated. Simple
reading, writing and arithmetic are taught with special reference
to word and number recognition so necessary to 'safe-living'.
Discipline is maintained throughout the centre at such a level as
will promote obedience and enable the child to exercise a measure
of self-control and become more emotionally stable.
It is the intention of centre training to have regard to the
whole personality of a child and not only to prepare him/her
eventually for undertaking employment but also to encourage the
use of leisure hours to advantage.
(3) Special Care Unit
With the object of accommodating 12 very severely retarded
children suffering from other handicaps, this unit, at first sight,
would appear to meet the needs of the parent rather than the
child. However, while the value of the unit to the parent should
not be underrated, the service is not to be considered as merely
one of child-minding. On the contrary, it must be, and indeed
it is, a training unit in as much as the children are being helped
towards greater independence.
On admission at the age of 5 or 6 years, some children are
still bottle-fed and much skilled and patient teaching is required
to assist them to surmount the physical handicaps which make
self-help so difficult. A great sense of achievement is felt when
a previously helpless child begins to spoon-feed itself.
Of all the groups this one, perhaps more than any other,
needs to be taught leisure-hour activities in order that the many
hours spent by its members in wheel chairs at home may, in fact,
be those of leisure and not of boring and deleterious idleness.
It may well be that many children in this unit will never be able
to undertake employment even under sheltered conditions but their