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Report of the County Medical Officer—Education.
187
admission examinations, but mainly by the head teachers after the child has been admitted to the
school. Every credit is due to the teachers for their attention and efforts in obtaining full and accurate
data in the following schedule.
What is the condition of parents, mental and physical ?
Are they temperate ?
Family history.
Has any near relative, dead or living, suffered from insanity,
fits, gout, spitting of blood, consumption,
scrofula, or any other hereditary disease ?
When was the mental deficiency of the child first observed ?
To what cause is this mental deficiency attributed ?
Is the child subject to epileptic or other fits ?
From what illness has the child suffered ?
Has the child received any special treatment ? If so,
where ?
When did the child commence to walk ?
When did the child commence to talk ?
Dr. Shrubsall has analysed some 3,000 records and has obtained the following results; the figures
must be regarded as minimal since in many records some one or other of the points was not recorded:—
Causes assigned by the relative for the deficiency of children (from 2,000 records).
Premature birth 59
Prenatal troubles 187
Cruelty to mother before the birth of the child 22
Injury at birth 43
Twin birth 6
Triplet birth 1
Size of family 4
Early closure of head 1
Deafness 4
Defective vision 3
Malnutrition 25
Delicacy 77
Ill-treatment 3
Neglect 21
Over-petting 2
Being kept indoors 1
Fright 39
Obstinacy 3
Consanguinity of parents 2
Heredity 31
Illness—
Indefinite illness 32
Diphtheria 13
Scarlet fever 37
Whooping cough 5
Measles 9
Chorea 1
Rickets 5
"Fits" 32
Brain disease 23
"Water on the brain" 4
Sunstroke 4
"Large brain" 1
Worms 1
"Medical treatment" 1
Age at which the deficiency was noted.
During infancy Number— 762 .. Percentage—60.81
By 4 years „ 88 „ 7.02
„ 5 ,, ,, 32 ,, 2.55
„ 6 „ „ 10 „ .80
„ 7 ,, 3 ,, .24
„ 8 ,, „ 2 ,, .16
At school „ 356 „ 28.41
1,253
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