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19
PART II SPECIALIST SERVICES
AUDIOLOGY SERVICE
Mr. J.C. Oakley, Peripatetic Teacher of the Deaf
During the year, 1,220 children were tested in the Audiology Clinic
by pure tone audiometer. This included routine follow-up cases, cases
referred by School Medical Officers, Child Study Survey tests and 569
Sweep Test Failures. Regular clinics were held at Lodge Road; Parkway,
New Addington; and Whytecliffe Road, Purley. The pre-school children requiring
auditory training, were seen regularly in the Lodge Road clinic or
at home. Extra speech training was given by the Speech Therapists and
Speech Training machines were loaned to the parents.
95 children were seen either by Mr. Parsons or Mr. Stewart, the
Corporation's Consultant Otologist, who held regular sessions at Lodge
Road, Kingsley Nursery, Infant and Junior Partially Hearing Units and the
Riddlesdown Senior Partially Hearing Unit. 10 hearing aids were recommended
during the year, 9 of these were National Health Service
'Medresco' aids and the other one a commercial aid paid for by the
Corporation. This was necessary because the child's hearing loss was
greater than the range covered by the 'Medresco' aid. During the year, the
National Health Service introduced a post aural aid and where suitable,
this was issued to the children in the 12 - 16 age range. This was very
warmly received by the children in the Riddlesdown Unit.
67 babies were seen at the special clinic held in conjunction with Dr.
Morgan, for the early assessment of deafness in young babies, 11 of these
were referred to Mr. Parsons for further assessment. This clinic, now well
established, has been very successful in diagnosing deafness in these
young babies, enabling a hearing aid to be prescribed and auditory training
commenced with the minimum of delay. Early diagnosis and the institution
of auditory training, together with a hearing aid and speech training
machine, greatly improve the outlook for a child with impaired hearing,
particularly the more severely deaf.
During the year, all Infant schools were visited at least once, and
apart from absentees and unco-operative children (512), all children newly
admitted to school during the year were tested. Of the 7,096 children
tested, 632 (approx. 8.9%), failed the test and were referred to the Audiology
Clinic for further assessment. For further additional statistical details,
see Appendix B, Page 61.