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Hospital Board of a Medical Director to the Spastic Unit. For the third
year in succession disappointment must be expressed at the failure to
obtain a full establishment of physiotherapy staff at this school.
Ascertainment of Deaf and Partially Deaf Children
Following a gramophone audiometry survey into the incidence and
causes of deafness in school children, carried out in this Area and two
other Areas in the County, the County Council decided during the year
to extend the scheme in a modified way to the whole County. Under
the new arrangement, this Area is grouped with Area 4 (Finchley and
Hendon) and will share the services of an audiometrician and also
equipment. Miss L. Harper, who carried out the initial survey in this
Area, resigned in July, 1953, and was replaced by Mrs. E. M. Perry
in September, 1953. Since the 1st December, 1953, Mrs. Perry has
been working in Area 4, and while it is intended that her time will
be shared equally between the two Areas, for the sake of convenience
she will generally work for a fairly long continuous period in each
Area.
Tottenham Day Special School for the Deaf
The work of the School for the Deaf which had accommodation for
80 children has been augmented by the establishment of a nursery class
for 20 children under the age of five years. This nursery class was
officially opened at the end of last year. The age range is now from
three to sixteen years and the catchment from a wide area of Middlesex
plus a few children by arrangement with neighbouring Counties.
Children living at a distance from the School are provided with motor
transport and a number of the senior children travel independently by
public transport.
A waiting list of Middlesex children is kept for children awaiting
admission to the School, and before names are added to the list there
is full consultation on the medical and educational aspects between
the staffs of the two departments. The teaching of the School is by
oral method, i.e., the aim is to produce speech as opposed to communication
by the manual method. Each year one or more pupils enter
the entrance examination for Mary Hare Grammar School for Deaf
Children at Newbury.
As in previous years I would again stress the importance of
separating, as far as possible, the partially deaf from the totally deaf,
the former at present being in the minority at the School. The question
of establishing a class for the partially deaf in an ordinary school is
mentioned earlier in this report.
Audiology Unit
To improve further the service for the treatment of children totally
or partially deaf, the Committee has recommended, and the County
Health Committee has approved in principle, a proposal to establish
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