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Stewart Headlam special classes—Over the years several children had been admitted to
speech clinics who suffered from various degrees of dysphasia. Some of these children were
found to be unsuitable for Moor House, a boarding school which takes children with this
defect. The usual weekly or twice weekly attendance in a speech clinic was found to give
insufficient treatment and progress in school was very slow. Dysphasic children may have
difficulty in the comprehension of spoken language or in the production of language or
both; they need, therefore, much more help than can be given in an ordinary speech clinic.
There is need of stimulus to speech, encouragement to practice and understanding guidance
in both school and clinic. The support given by the family circle and regular contact with
much normal speech are also of valuable assistance.
A regime in which the child spends part time in normal school, part time in the speech
clinic, part time in a special class and in the meantime lives at home and maintains normal
contacts with family and friends would seem to be as good as possible. This is the scheme
worked at the Stewart Headlam special class, where speech therapy and special educational
arrangements are available four days each week. Children attend as frequently as can be
arranged and spend the rest of the time in their ordinary school. This venture was started
in November, 1959 in conjunction with the Education Officer and has been found to be
of real value in helping these rather awkward children. Here they can be helped as
individuals and also work as a community, they gain strength by discovering that they are
not alone in their disability.
The children in this group take part in very varied activities, some of which are handicrafts
such as painting, modelling and woodwork, some more academic such as reading
and writing and mathematics; they make visits, go swimming and have visitors—one
memorable visitor was a mounted policeman, an inspector. All sorts of ways are used to
enable normal contacts to be made and all sorts of people have been of great help; the
teacher and speech therapist, of course, but also the schoolkeeper and the cook.
Progress is apparently good at first, then seems to slow down and it is as yet uncertain
how long children should attend; about two years is the expected minimum and some will
need longer. The degree of difficulty experienced by the children varies greatly, some
have a severe defect of expression, some have little language and in some there is an
associated problem of the understanding of written symbols.
The greatest difficulty in keeping the group in being has been that of attendance; escorts
are necessary for most children and they have not been easy to find. The area from which
the children attend is large, anywhere within the county and rarely can one escort bring
two children. One boy from out-county was sent and fetched by car each day the group
operated. This boy, at one time unable to speak with anyone, distinguished himself by
ringing up a headmaster to enquire the whereabouts of his friend due in the group and
who had not turned up. His message was understood and gave all concerned much satisfaction.
Not so another occasion on which a message to be given to the teacher was taken
by a boy and distorted from 'your visitors will not be able to come today' into ' you
have two new children coming tomorrow
Most of the schools from which these children come find some degree of improvement
in a short time, at first in the reaction of the child to the staff and children and later in
academic achievement. In one school a boy made such advances as to win an award for
having made more progress than any other pupil. For the presentation of the award by
the Lord Mayor he went with the school to the Guildhall. Alas, a mistake was made and
this boy's name was not called. He took the disappointment bravely but was still very upset
next day. The teacher in the special class made sure that the Lord Mayor heard of the
error with the result that the boy was asked to meet the Lord Mayor and had a very special
presentation on his own. He was more thrilled because the Lord Mayor of London was
robed.
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