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 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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92
Handicapped Children
7,069 examinations of children were made during the year with a view either to
ascertain the need for special educational treatment or to consider the need for
continued special educational treatment. The number in each category was:—
Vision 243
Hearing 207
Epilepsy 80
Educational subnormality 2,579
Delicate 2,579
Physical conditions 717
Dual defects 62
Speech defects 519
Various examinations 83
In addition 317 children were presented because of alleged maladjustment and
10 because of diabetes.
Tables 21 to 31 in the appendix show the results of the examinations.
Accommodation
| Defect | No. of schools | Roll | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls | Total | ||
| Partially sighted | 6 | 197 | 196 | 393 |
| Deaf | 4 | 147 | 135 | 282 |
| *Partially deaf | 4 | 39 | 34 | 73 |
| Physically handicapped | 20 | 802 | 745 | 1,547 |
| Delicate | 10 | 656 | 484 | 1,140 |
| Educationally subnormal | 24 | 1,615 | 1,034 | 2,649 |
| Total | 68 | 3,456 | 2,628 | 6,084 |
*Special classes held in normal schools.
| Defect | No. of schools | Accommodation | Roll | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | Day | |||
| Blind | 2 | 80 | 30 | 74 |
| *Deaf | 3 | 162 | 68 | 169 |
| Physically handicapped | 2 | 102 | — | 102 |
| Delicate | 7 | 431 | — | 295 |
| Educationally subnormal | 3 | 288 | — | 288 |
| Diabetic | 1 | 63 | — | 60 |
| Maladjusted | 1 | 45 | — | 45 |
| Totals | 19 | 1,171 | 98 | 1,033 |
*Including Rayners for double defects.
In addition to the handicapped children in the Council's own residential special schools there were at the end of the year 777 London County Council children in non-Council residential special schools catering for the following defects:—
| Blind | 51 |
| Partially sighted | 6 |
| Deaf and Partially deaf | 36 |
| Physically handicapped | 52 |
| Delicate | 236 |
| Educationally subnormal | 95 |
| Epileptic | 56 |
| Maladjusted | 240 |
| Speech defect (Moor House) | 5 |
| Total | 777 |