London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of Westminster 1971
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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44
Handicapped Children
During 1971 a total of 121 children were placed on the register, tabulated as ollows:-
| Born | Notified by Hospitals | Serial screening by medical officer | Recommended for training | Notified by Hospitals | Serial screening by medical officer | Recommended for training |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1 | 9 | 53 | 5 | ||
| 1970 | 1 | 5 | — | 6 | 4 | |
| 1969 | — | 13 | 11 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 1968 | — | 15 | 15 | 3 | ||
| 1967 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Totals | 2 | 45 | 29 | 65 | 9 | 3 |
From these figures it is clear that the majority of the babies under 1 are placed on the register as a result
of physical handicaps reported by hospitals. From the age of 2 most of the children are placed on the
register because of mental retardation discovered by clinic medical officers as a result of serial screening.
Furthermore a high proportion of these mentally retarded children are recommended for special nursery
training.
Westminster is fortunate in having 70 special nursery places available for handicapped children and in
addition many of the less severely handicapped are admitted to ordinary day nursery places.
It is not easy to assess the effects of admission to special nurseries, since a properly controlled
experiment is not possible. But an analysis of handicapped children reaching school age in 1971 shows that
the majority were able to enter ordinary schools. The actual figures are as follows:-
Children born in 1966 on handicap register in 1971
| Mentally retarded: | Physically handicapped: | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended for OS | 49 | Recommended for OS | 15 |
| Recommended for ESNS | 7 | Recommended for Special school | 6 |
| Recommended for SSNS | 11 | ||
| Recommended for Hospital | 3 | 21 | |
| 70 |
Many of the children found to be handicapped at 2-3 years of age had been given special training and in
particular 44 of the more severely mentally retarded children had received training in special nurseries or
classes. Of these, 25 were able to enter ordinary schools, 5 entered schools for ESN and 13 were
recommended for schools for SSN or hospital. This is surely a justification for providing the maximum help
to selected children at the very important ages 2-5, help which can make a great contribution to their future
development and well being.
Assessment of Handicapped Children
Assessment is undertaken at two levels. Westminster City Council runs special clinics for handicapped
children staffed by specialist medical officers trained in developmental assessment. Parents attend Dy
appointment and time is allowed for complete examination with psychometric testing and for parent
counselling.