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consideration and action. Special appointments are arranged for
the Medical Officer to see these children, either at a Clinic or at
the child's home, depending usually on the degree or type of
handicap. Before a recommendation is made the advice of the
various appropriate Hospital Consultants, with whom there is a
very close liaison, is sought.
During the year 81 boys and 27 girls were assessed as needing
special educational treatment at special schools. Details of the
various handicaps are included in the following table.
The Borough is fortunate in possessing three day schools for
educationally sub-normal pupils, and a report on each of these
schools will be found later in this Report.
The field of handicap is a very wide one; for instance, a large
range of different conditions is included under the heading of
"Physically Handicapped" and similarly "Delicate" can cover
quite a number of different conditions.
Obtaining the best possible arrangements for the education
of the handicapped child requires time and patience, but the
effort involved is fully justified by the results obtained. It should
be stressed that the assessment of a handicapped child does not
consist merely in appraising the defects. The assets—what the
child can do, the total environment, etc., must not be forgotten.
Further, there is a new approach to this often purely clinical
examination, namely an attempt to see the child in the home and
school environment because a handicap or defect can have a
different meaning to a doctor, a parent, or a child.