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The setting up of the Child Guidance Centre has revealed the necessity in this
Borough for a service for handicapped children, in particular children who are maladjusted,
or who have multiple handicaps. There is a great need for day and boarding
placement for severely maladjusted children within the Borough. There is a need of a
wide range of both medical and non-medical placements for children coming to the
Clinic.
Many multi-problem families are referred to us whose needs could much more
adequately be met by a Family Service Unit if one existed in the Borough.
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Conclusion
Comparing the figures of children referred to our psychiatric services in the
Borough with those at other boroughs, with longer established child guidance clinics
it is clear that an unsatisfied demand for psychiatric services exists in the Borough.
I think it is unlikely that our high referral rate is an artefact due to the fact that we
are getting children referred who have been waiting some years for help, nor can we
hope that the numbers referred will drop off significantly. What is more important,
the number of children referred with acute disturbances is increasing, and these are
the children who may be helped most economically with short term or family group
therapy. Even if the staffing establishment in Child Guidance Centres within the
Borough is increased, it is unlikely that the needs of disturbed children within the
Borough will be adequately met from these Centres alone. The staff of Child Guidance
Centres must spend time increasingly therefore in working with people in the
community who are involved with children, particularly parents, teachers, doctors, nurses
and social workers, in order to help raise the level of therapeutic skills and also
increase the Borough's range of preventive services, in the hope this will lessen
the number of children who need help."
Speech Therapy
There are five whole-time speech therapists employed by the Authority who
undertake sessions within the School Health Service at clinics and in the Day Special
Schools and Junior Training Schools in the Borough.
The diagnosis and treatment of speech and language disorders is the responsibility
of the speech therapists who give advice to parents and teachers so that treatment can
be continued outside the ilinic sessions.
During the year a total of 618 children received treatment and supervision.
National Child Development Study
There has been a second follow-up of children born in the week 3rd to 9th March,
1958. The survey is intended to gather information about the educational progress,
health, physical development and home background of these children and, for this
purpose 56 children in the Borough were examined by Medical Officers and parental
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