View report page

Associated with this is the question of emotional disturbance. This is
what is known as a vicious circle. A child who is emotionally upset tends
to stammer or to have some other speech defect, and as a result of the
speech defect the child is more upset emotionally. Breaking this vicious
circle is one of the hardest tasks presented to a Speech Therapist and it is
here that relaxation is the main factor in her method of treatment.
Question:— Is convalescent treatment as beneficial in the winter
as in the summer ?
Answer:— This question is an often recurring one and the answer
must, of course, be—"It all depends."
What I want to put on record, at the cost of repeating myself, is that
the children at Hydon Heath Camp did exceptionally well during the
winter provided they had had a sufficient stay there during the previous
summer in order to tone themselves up, as it were, for the coming rigours
of the winter-time.
With regard to other cases—that is, those of a short-term stay—
there can be no doubt that
generally speaking winter is not
favourable in a large number of
cases. Chesty children with
bronchitis do not do very well,
so far as convalescence is concerned, unless the weather is favourable.
Whilst I am talking on this subject I want to say I am not very much
in favour of short-term convalescence for children. A large number of
these children are, or have recently been, far from well. This is the time
when children become more dependent than ever on their mothers and
their home life, and it does take them some time to adjust themselves to
the more communal life of a Convalescent Home. During this time they
are not making the progress they otherwise would; so much so that it
can reasonably be said it is very fortunate if, at the end of a week, a child
is just beginning to pick up and make good. If, then, the child is going home
at the end of another week there is the further disturbance of going home.
To my mind, if convalescence is to be economic, it should be at least
for a period of one month.
Question:—What is done for children who are "behaviour
problems" ?
Answer:—Elsewhere, on several occasions, I have written about
children who are mis-named "behaviour problems," but I have not
written much as to what is done for these children. I have not written
very much because there is so little that can be done.
These children are out of joint with their environment but this
does not mean, as I have stated so many hundreds of times, that there
is of necessity anything wrong with the child; that is, it does not mean
the child is maladjusted within himself.
Number of children admitted to
Convalescent Homes during
1950 54
Page 22