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In 1958 another 118 school leavers were in need of voluntary supervision only.
The special article on pages 166 to 180 reviews the provision made, over the years, for
the special educational treatment of the educationally sub-normal.
Speech
therapy
During the year there were two developments in the field of speech therapy. First,
the good results obtained over recent years in schools for the educationally sub-normal
had led to the hope that speech therapy would also be profitable in the occupation
centres for the mentally handicapped (see page 101). A pilot experiment in two centres
was conducted in 1957 and in 1958 the work was expanded and regular speech therapy
made available at four centres. In December, 1958, 72 children were receiving treatment
there. Secondly, a start was made in the provision of portable tape recorders. One of
the problems facing the speech therapist is that of bringing the patient to an appreciation
of his own speech defect. This is readily achieved by playing back a sound recording.
The difficulty has always been that the provision of a recording machine at each
establishment—over 90—visited by speech therapists would have been prohibitively
expensive, as well as uneconomic in that each machine would have been used for part
only of each week. The obvious solution was to provide at each clinic or school visited
by a speech therapist a 'library' of spools of tape relating to the patients at that centre,
together with a number of portable machines, which the therapists could readily carry
from place to place, using ordinary public transport. The machines have proved to be of
very great assistance, not only for the reason stated above, but also in demonstrating
to patients, and their parents, the changes and progress that occur under treatment.
At the end of the year 137 speech therapy sessions were held at 46 clinics. In addition
48 sessions were held in 27 day schools for the educationally sub-normal, 27 sessions in
day schools for the physically handicapped and 20 sessions in boarding special schools.
During the year 1,282 pupils (including 224 in special schools) were formally ascertained
as requiring speech therapy, 503 (including 69 in special schools) were discharged as
either cured or improved, and 269 (including 71 in special schools), most of whom
showed some improvement, ceased to receive treatment for various reasons, e.g.,
removal. The number of pupils under treatment at the end of the year was 2,181,
whilst 322 remained on the waiting list. At the end of the year the total staff employed
was the whole time equivalent of 23 8/11.
Audiometry
1958 was the first complete year during which the rapid pure tone sweep method
of audiometry was carried out in all divisions. The 'sweep test' apparatus is essentially
a simplified pure tone audiometer easily transported from school to school, which is
used for the testing of school entrants.

It is always the intention to discover cases of congenital deafness within the first
18 months of life, but there will always be a number of children who are deaf or partially
deaf in one or both ears found for the first time on admission to school.
Short courses have been arranged by the Council in the detection of deafness in
young children, and opportunities have been given for all full-time and a number of
part-time medical officers to attend.
Maladjusted pupils
Divisional
case
conferences
In each division a case conference is held regularly to consider problem children. The
education district inspector, the divisional medical officer, the education divisional
officer and the district organiser of children's care work (education) are members :
whenever possible an educational psychologist also attends and headteachers are invited
for discussion of children from their schools. Many of the children discussed at these
conferences are referred to child guidance clinics.
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