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7 cases which occurred last year. 3 cases occurred in one family,
and there were 2 cases in each of 2 other families. 6 of the cases
were in attendance at Southfield School, 2 in John Perryn school,
and 2 in Acton Wells. There was one each in Acton Junior, Beaumont
Park, Priory, and Berrymede.
Otorrhoea.
There is a slight increase in the number of children suffering
from diseases of the ear, and during the coming year it is hoped that
an attempt will be made to deal more efficiently with the ear conditions.
Particular attention should be directed to the attempts
which are being made to detect minor degrees of deafness. The
detection of partial deafness has been hampered by the lack of
scientific methods. Statistics have proved that a number of school
children are partially deaf, but there was no method of testing in the
past which was quick enough to survey large groups in a short time,
and accurate enough to segregate the slightly deaf for further examination.
It is now claimed that the need has been met by
the introduction of the Audiometer. This instrument has been
used in some schools and it is stated to have proved a valuable
aid in the detection of slight deafness.
Defective Speech.
3 children suffering from speech defects were found at Routine
inspection. It will be recollected that a few years ago, a speech
defect class was formed and the results obtained justified the experiment.
Most of these children have now left school, and it
was decided to ascertain the number of children now in school
suffering from a defect of speech, and at the end of the year 1931,
there were 19 stammerers in the schools. Of these, 12 were slight,
and 7 were severe cases. A further detailed report upon these
children will be submitted to the Committee during the year, so that
the members can decide as to the desirability of again having the
Speech Defect Class.
In addition to these, there were 13 children who articulated
badly. These of course are in an entirely different category.
The fundamental cause is different, and the treatment is different.
We were fortunate that there was in one of the schools a teacher
who was interested in, and had attended a course in, corrected
articulation, and she has kindly supervised a class of these children.
The course is not yet finished.