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*The numbers with speech defect include 8 boys and 5 girls also
suffering from cerebral palsy.
The school medical officer, Dr. Thelma Wield, saw 225 children at 22 medicals,
86 parents being present. At specialist medicals held by Dr. Fanthorpe
and Mr. McQueen, a total of 40 children were seen, 22 parents being present.
Sister Jordan and her staff were responsible for the arrangements and recording,
in addition to dealing with 58 major epileptic fits and the toilet training
of incontinent children.
In the Physiotherapy Department the following treatments have been
given:—
3,690 chest treatments, 6,631 Spina Bifida,
4,343 Cerebral Palsy and 2,013 miscellaneous treatments -
a grand total of 16,785.
The absence of speech therapy at the end of the period is a matter of
grave concern in the School.
PUPILS SUFFERING FROM A SPEECH DEFECT
In Day Special School Nil
In Day Unit 9
In Residential School 2
Under this heading only pupils where speech is the major disability are
considered. Most of these children attend the Day Unit at West Thornton
School untiI they are fit to transfer back to normal school or untiI they reach
eleven years. Luckily most of the children, afterthe skilled attention they
receive in the Unit, are able to take their places in ordinary schools. The
others have been placed reasonably satisfactorily in other special schools
and units in the Borough according to their needs.
West Thornton Unit for Speech Disordered Children
There were nine children in the Unit at the beginning of the year. Since
then, five have been admitted and seven have left us. Of these seven, five
are in ordinary schools, where they are progressing satisfactorily; one is in
a School for Educationally Sub-normal children, and one is in a Partially
Hearing Unit.
Miss Grasso, Senior Speech Therapist, left in the autumn to return to
Australia and we are happy to welcome Mrs. Siddons, L.C.S.T. as our new
Senior Speech Therapist.
Three of the older boys in the Unit spend the afternoons in classes
with their own age groups, and all the children join with other classes for
Assemblies, P.E., games and music. The friendly welcome which they
always receive from teachers and children in the main school is a great
help. Gning into other classes is something whichthe children in the Unit