View report page

28
The other symptoms occur in much the same proportions as
in other years, except that there is an increase in " Nervous
Disorders "—conditions such as fears and anxiety, solitariness and
unsociability, depression, etc., which are very apt to pass unnoticed,
although they are among the more serious symptoms
of psychological disturbance in children.
Table III Intelligence Levels.
The average I.Q. is considerably higher than last year, though
still significantly (in the statistical sense) lower than the average
for the school population, i.e., the majority of the children seen had
less than average intelligence. This tendency to low intelligence
is correlated with the symptoms that predominate, i.e., " behaviour
difficulties."
Table IV. Special Recommendations.
Of the 11 children in the first two categories here, 2 were
admitted to suitable boarding schools. The two recommendations
for admission to Approved Schools were on cases already before the
Juvenile Court, and in one of these cases alternative placement
was found. The recommendations involving the other 6 children
were put into effect. It will therefore be seen that 9 children are
still remaining in unsatisfactory environmental conditions, and in
two of these cases the parents withdrew their consent to the plans
suggested because of the failure to implement them while the
matter still seemed urgent to the home.
Conclusion.
This report is of the work of the Child Guidance Centre in its
first year in its own premises, and the first serious attempt to
assess the needs of the school population for psychiatric help. It
has become clear as the work has proceeded that very great
advantages are attached to the method adopted in Ealing of appointing
a full time Psychologist to work in the schools and in close
co-operation with the Child Guidance Team. The present analysis
of the work of the Centre shows also, however, that the character
of the problems in the Centre will be determined to a large extent
by the direction of the Educational Psychologist's work. Her
first year has been particularly directed to problems of backwardness,
and while this has relieved the Centre of problems of " mere "
backwardness with which it is powerless to deal, it has brought to
attention an unusually high proportion of difficulties arising out
of backwardness. This is of general interest, and of great importance.
The average age of the children referred is 9 years,
i.e., 50 per cent. are not seen until they are 9 or over, by which time
they have had four years of school life. Failure to deal with the
educational difficulties of the less gifted children in the first years