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68
(A. Kushlik, "Method of Evaluating the Effectiveness of Paediatric Care for
Severely Retarded Children, 1967).
The files of children under five on the Observation/Handicap Register
make sad reading: physical suffering, emotional deprivation, social stress,
depressed and fatigued mothers, break down of families, gruesome housing
conditions, and still inadequate provisions.
DEVELOPMENTAL PAEDIATRIC CLINICS
The needs for early diagnosis of a handicapping condition is well known.
The need for assessment of what the child can do is not less important. The
Developmental examination concerns itself with establishing whether the child
is functioning on the level expected for his age. His hearing and vision, language
and speech, drive and emotional characteristics, ability to learn and motor
development, are tested and assessed. The age of children referred to Developmental
Clinics varies from three months (the youngest patient) to four years
plus.
Children who are suspected of delayed development are referred to
Developmental Clinics by the health visitors and clinic doctors. At these clinics
they are seen by medical officers who are skilled in developmental assessments,
by a consultant psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist. Further investigations,
if required, are offered by Braidwood Audiology Unit, (I.L.E.A.) and by the
appropriate consultants in hospitals. The social needs of children attending
Developmental Clinic are sometimes even more pronounced than the developmental
defect. A senior nursing officer in the Department and the senior
medical officer responsible discuss and outline a plan of action in each
individual case.
LIAISON WITH TEACHING HOSPITALS
A handicapped child needs comprehensive care. The close co-operation
with hospital services is absolutely vital for the child's welfare.
Queen Mary's Hospital for Children, Carshalton
A senior registrar was seconded to this Department for one session per
week, to assist with the problems of severely retarded children. Besides helping
with individual cases, the registrar carried out a great deal of teaching of doctors
and of social workers in the Mental Health Department and the Children's
Department.