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for them, a day nursery placement is not quite appropriate. Such children may
find the setting over-stimulating, or may require longer spells of one-to-one
relationship with a member of staff for the channels of communication even to
begin to function. There are strong indications that a special day nursery for
handicapped children is required and that it would play an important role in
providing diagnostic observation of the child and preparing him for entry to an
ordinary nursery. Some play groups do offer a few sessions to handicapped
children. It is hoped that in the future all of them will do so.
Multi-handicapped children under 5 are placed in a Special Care Unit
attached to Tulse Hill Day Nursery. The long waiting list for admission to this
Unit clearly indicates that more Special Care Units for the under-fives are
needed.
DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN
This comparatively new branch of paediatrics is based on the knowledge of
normal and abnormal progress of a child in all aspects of his development. The
methods applied in this examination are simple and, in experienced hands, almost
infallible. The advantage of Developmental Assessment is that it discovers delays
and deviations of development in pre-clinical stages and enables early corrective
action to be taken.
In Lambeth, several special Developmental Clinics are regularly held by
three doctors in different parts of the Borough. One clinic is held, together with
a psychiatrist and psychologist from a hospital for the subnormal. Unfortunately,
due to family commitments, two doctors can give only a limited number of
sessions. It seems that much more Developmental Assessment will need to be
undertaken by clinical doctors at Child Health Centres as otherwise the waiting
list for children referred to Developmental Assessment Clinics will become unduly
long, and the early corrective steps will be unavoidably delayed.
The average number of Developmental Clinics held in the Borough is eleven
per month. One session takes place in the Child Health Department at King's
College Hospital, and is carried out by one of Lambeth's Senior Medical Officers.
The close co-operation between Observation/Handicap Register and
hospitals in this area of London leads to an exchange of reports, information
and personnel. A consultant from the Manor Hospital is involved in the
Developmental Assessment in the Borough, while a senior medical officer from
the Lambeth Health Department holds Developmental Assessment Clinics in
King's College Hospital, and carries out teaching sessions for the undergraduates.
A senior medical officer from St. Thomas' Hospital attends Developmental Clinics
in the Borough and is about to undertake clinical sessions in a Special Care Unit at
one of the Junior Training Schools. There is close co-operation with Queen Mary's
Hospital for Children at Carshalton, which takes the majority of our short-term