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SPEECH THERAPY
The following is the report of the work of the speech therapists, Miss E. N. Symes
and Miss E. R. Shipley.
For the greater part of 1957, two speech therapists have been working in the Borough,
except for three months in the summer when there was one vacancy. Miss M. M. Smith,
who had worked in Dagenham for eight years, left us in May to take up an appointment
in London and her place was taken in September by Miss E. R. Shipley.
The work has continued to increase throughout the year and this is no doubt due
to the careful selection from the schools of children with speech defects, and to the cooperation
which we receive from both the medical and teaching staffs in this matter.
We were pleased to have the use of a tape recorder in the clinic at Five Elms towards
the end of 1957. Already several cases have been recorded and more will be done in
this direction in the future. It is invaluable for recording progress made in the clinic,
and it also helps to bring the defect to the notice of the patient concerned. We hope to
have the use of small-size tapes in 1958 for the purpose of recording and filing individual
cases.
We felt that this year a statistical survey might help to convey briefly the nature of
the work carried out in the speech clinic.
Speech Therapy Review
1. Number of treatments given 2,673
2. Number of patients treated 241
173 patients treated at Five Elms Clinic
58 „ „ „ Leys Clinic
10 ,, ,, ,, The Bentry School
3. Number of sessions held
443 at Five Elms Clinic
189 at Leys Clinic
45 at The Bentry School
Total 677
One session was used weekly in both the first and the second clinics for school or home visits,
and interviews.
4. Case Load—163 boys and 78 girls—total 241.
5. Types of Cases treated
Dyslalia 102
Stammering 66
Sigmatism 44
Cleft Palate 4
Stammering and Dyslalia 7
Other defects 18
Total 241
6. Reasons for Discharge
Normal speech attained 71
Non-attendance 24
Left school 5
Transferred 8
Moved away 3
111
7. Number of cases on the Register at 31st December 1957—134.
68