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
London County Council 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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135
After-careers
reported by
the London
association
for the Care
of the Mentally
Defective.
Return for year to 31st December, 1929, of the after-careers of children formerly attending special schools for the mentally defective, apart from those whose names have been forwarded to the local control authority for action under the Mental Deficiency Acts, 1913-1927:—
| M. | F. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Number of children born in or subsequent to 1910 who have left special (mentally defective) schools and who have been on the books of the association as "after-care" cases | 831 | 561 | 1,392 |
| 2. Number of these who— | |||
| (a) Have since died | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| (b) Are known to be incapable by reason of mental or physical defect of undertaking employment | 33 | 30 | 63 |
| (c) Have been subsequently dealt with under M.D. Acts | 19 | 11 | 30 |
| 3. Number employed in— | |||
| (a) Industrial or manual occupations (i.e., factory work, and trade or part of a trade) | 506 | 359 | 865 |
| (b) Agricultural or rural occupations | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| (c) Domestic occupations (i.e., servants sleeping in or out, lift boys and those "helping at home") | 17 | 100 | 117 |
| 19 | 3 | 22 | |
| (e) Blind alley or other precarious occupations (i.e., van boys, newsboys, errand boys or girls selling from a barrow) | 141 | 4 | 145 |
| 4. Judged to be employable but out of work | 51 | 32 | 83 |
| 5. Number whose careers have not been traced or who have left the neighbourhood | 35 | 14 | 49 |
| Total analysed under headings 2, 3, 4 and 5 | 831 | 561 | 1,392 |
Children
leaving
schools for
the blind.
It has been considered desirable that there shall be a complete record of all
children leaving the schools for the blind, and in order that this shall be done,
arrangements have been made whereby the Metropolitan Society for the Blind is
furnished with particulars of all children leaving such schools.
Gardening as
occupation
for children
irith defective
vision.
During the year consideration has been given to the question of gardening tor
children with defective vision.
The children in attendance at the myope classes may be divided into two
groups:—
1. Children whose sight is poor owing to defect in the original development of the eye
and others whose sight is poor owing to scarring of the cornea from ulceration or inflammation.
2. True myopes whose eyes are stretched by reason of a slow but continuous low grade
inflammatory reaction.
Of the two groups the first accounts for some one-third of the total. For these
children there is no risk and every advantage in out-door occupations. Gardening
is therefore of value to them; and, if their bent is towards this work, it will be a
satisfactory life occupation for them. Any means of training them for such work
will therefore be good and worth while. There is no part of gardening from which
they must be barred. They may dig and lift with freedom and without hurt.
The larger group of truly myopic children are in quite another category. The
state of their eyes is such that any strain involves the risk of an increase of the shortsight.
Outdoor life is of advantage to them since this will increase their general
health, and to that extent tend to prevent extension of the eye changes. But that
outdoor life must not entail strains that would outweigh the advantages of the
open air. Gardening can scarcely be carried on without digging ; digging entails
considerable strain; it involves considerable muscular effort. It also entails
frequent lifting of weights, pots and containers of flowers and plants, and this again
entails strain. Of those in the myope classes whose myopia reaches 10 dioptres,
and whose cards are marked "Care," there can be no question that gardening in any