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75
After careers
of children
formerly
attending
special
schools.
Return for year 31st December, 1930, 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, 1913-27.
Male.
Female.
Total.
1. Number of children born in or subsequent to 1912 who have left
special (mentally defective) schools, and who have been on the
books of the association as "after-care" cases
790
431
1,221
2. Number of these who—
(a) Have since died
1
—
1
(b) Are known to be incapable by reason of mental or physical
defect of undertaking employment
22
11
33
(c) Have been subsequently dealt with under the M.D. Acts
30
11
41
3. Number employed in—
(a) Industrial or manual occupations (i.e., factory work and
trade or part of trade)
481
270
751
(b) Agricultural or rural occupations
6
—
6
(c) Domestic occupations (i.e., servants sleeping in or out, lift
boys and those "helping at home")
22
105
127*
(d) Commercial (i.e., shop assistants or selling behind a
counter), professional (or Army and Navy), clerical (office
boys and girls)
39
3
42
(e) Blind alley or other precarious occupations (i.e., van boys,
newsboys, errand boys or girls selling from a barrow)
123
2
125
4. Judged to be employable but out of work
49
20
69
5. Number whose careers have not been traced or have left the
neighbourhood
17
9
26
Total analysed under headings 2, 3, 4 and 5
790
431
1,221
* Of these 127 young people, 85 were receiving remuneration and 42 were required for work at home.
Deaf Children.
During the year, Mr. Yearsley, the Council's consulting aural surgeon, has seen
355 cases as against 368 for the previous year. The decisions in regard to them
are set out on page 68. Analysing the causes of deafness in the case of 152 children
seen for the first time relative to their being hard of hearing, deaf, and deaf with
some other deficiency, 31 were found to be congenital, 117 due to acquired causes ;
whilst in 4 the cause of deafness was doubtful. The ratio of the congenital to acquired
causes was 15.3 to 84.7. The congenital cases were classified as:—
Boys.
Girls.
Total.
True hereditary deaf birth 5 4 9
Sporadic deaf birth 8 12 20
Aphasia — 2 2
13 18 31
The acquired cases were classified as:—
Boys.
Girls.
Totals.
Per cent.
Disease of the nervous system
3
2
5
4
Infectious fevers
25
23
48
41
Other infective diseases
5
6
11
9
Primary ear disease
23
29
52
45
Injury
1
—
1
1
57
60
117
100
In last year's report, Mr. Yearsley pointed out that for the first time in eleven
years no cases of deafness following epidemic cerebro-spinal meningitis had occurred
in the records. This year four cases were noted, one case of the disease having
occurred in each of the years 1924, 1927, 1928 and 1930. Seven cases were ascribed
to congenital syphilis, a higher number than that noted last year; in each of these
cases the deafness was complicated by present or past interstitial keratitis. In