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Child Guidance Clinics
During 1960 Dr. W. H. Craike, the consultant psychiatrist to
the Lordship Lane Clinic, held two sessions per week to deal with
the multiple conditions referred to him. Difficult behaviour at home
and school, truancy and nocturnal enuresis formed the hard core of
his problems; but children presenting a broad spectrum of psychosomatic
symptoms were referred to him by both school medical
officers and teachers. Dr. C. Phillips, who also undertook two
sessions a week, left in March to take up an appointment in the
United States of America and a replacement had not been appointed
by the end of the year. Consequently, Dr. Craike's case load was
heavily increased and there was a long waiting list of children for
diagnostic interview at the end of the year.
The year under review was one of transition in the Hornsey
Child Guidance Clinic owing to the departure of Dr. Phillips who
attended this clinic as well as the one in Tottenham and we were
fortunate in obtaining the services, as locum tenens, of Dr. Rachel
Shackleton. Nevertheless, the problems and the pressure of cases
remained essentially the same as in Tottenham and much valuable
work was done in maintaining this vital feature of the School Health
Service.
Speech Therapy
During 1960 the speech therapists held frequent consultations
with parents, teachers, health visitors, school medical officers and
other specialists, in addition to maintaining their regular treatment
programme.
School visiting formed an integral part of the work and it is
now accepted practice for school staffs to consult the speech therapist
about any child with a communication problem. This close liaison
helps the child with a stammer during the stress periods of his
school life, with their new pressures and demands. These most
commonly occur during the first year in the infant, junior and senior
schools.
Miss Joan Came, the senior speech therapist, emphasises that
deviation in language development may be significant from the age of
two years, and requires early investigation. Where the speech
therapist finds a history suggestive of brain damage, hearing loss,
severe emotional disturbance or other causative factors, further
referral to the appropriate specialist is indicated.
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