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
Hornsey 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornsey, Borough of]
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Speech Therapy
Miss Joan Came, Senior Speech Therapist, reports:-
"Delays in staff replacement chiefly affecting Hornsey caused
difficulties in 1963.
Many children need help with language acquisition in addition
to articulation improvement. Among other aetiological factors
associated with delayed onset of speech and language are cerebral
palsy, minimal neurological abnormality and cleft palate. Recent
work in linguistics and studies of the emotinnal origins of communication
offer valuable insight into language development. Pre-school
referral provides optimum conditions for preventive treatment and
research in such cases.
Treatment of two children at the partially-hearing unit, Devonshire Hill, has given a much-appreciated opportunity to co-operate with the teachers of the deaf, under their headmaster, Mr. Brown.
| Type of speech disorder | Number of children treated | Number discharged | Remaining Under observation for review ø | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | |
| Stammering | 21 | 3 | 20 | 5 | 41 | 14 |
| Dyslalia | 27 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 42 | 15 |
| Dyslalia (sigmatism) | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 12 |
| Delayed speech development | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 6 |
| Developmental dysarthria | 2 | - | 2 | - | - | - |
| Dysarthria associated with cerebral palsy | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Developmental dysphasia | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | . |
| Trumatic aphasia | - | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Dysphonia | 1 | - | • | 1 | - | 1 |
| Indistinct speech | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 'Cleft-palate speech' | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 |
| Speech disorder associated with high-frequency deafness | 1 | _ | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 79 | 35 | 49 | 38 | 110 | 50 |
| 114 | 87 | 160 | ||||
ø Most cases are kept for a period of Observation after treatment,
before final discharge.
Number of pre-school children referred - 20
Number of attendances for treatment - 2461
79