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104
Some of the children under five years of age had lost their hearing
through illness during infancy but the majority were suffering
from deafness of congenital origin.
It is the children with acquired deafness who continue to present
the greatest difficulty because this department must rely upon
notification from hospitals when patients are discharged. Information
is usually received from local hospitals about such children
but, from those outside the Borough it is less complete although the
health visitors may be able to rectify omissions if the patient is
under five years of age or if there is a pre-school child in the same
family.
Children on the register who are under five years of age are
assessed to determine whether special schooling will be required. A
final decision is made only after discussion between parents, social
and other workers and particularly the otologist. It can be seen
from the following table that only 47 children attended special
schools due to their disability. Fortunately the majority were able
to attend ordinary schools, some requiring special assistance but
others need only regular supervision to ensure that (1) they are
attending hospital or clinic as required, (2) they are wearing their
prescribed hearing aids, and (3) they are sitting in the recommended
places in the classroom and that school progress is satisfactory.
Deaf Register —31st December, 1967
Under Over
5 yrs. 5 yrs. Total
No. of Children on register 12 159 171
No. of Children with hearing aids 6 62 68
No. of Children attending Deaf
Schools or Partially Hearing Units 4 27 31
No. of Children attending other
Special Schools — 16 16
Depending on the degree of deafness, Social Workers make themselves
known to these young people and their families when they
leave school so that any needs arising from their handicap may be
met. However, the vast majority of deaf and partially hearing
school-leavers compete for jobs on the open market and obtain and
keep their employment without difficulty.
Home Nursing
The overall number of visits made by District Nurses during
1967 increased by 11,089, although the number of new cases
decreased by 36.