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Patients attending
366 children were referred to this centre in 1965 and 64 were brought forward from
the waiting list at the time of amalgamation. Of these 430 children, 285 were seen
by the full clinic team, 68 were dealt with without being seen by a psychiatrist and
77 were awaiting diagnosis at the end of the year.
Recommendations made at Diagnostic Interviews
Mention should, I feel, be made of two children of secondary school age who, on
our recommendation, spent a period in an adolescent in-patient unit. Both seemed
extremely ill when first seen, but both made complete recoveries in a short time.
This makes us wish that it were easier to get in-patient treatment for disturbed
children and adolescents. We can think of several others whose recovery would
probably have been more rapid had in-patient care been available.
Aston School
Seven children seen at the Centre were admitted to Aston School for the
maladjusted during the year, five to the primary department and two to the secondary.
Two were transferred from primary to secondary and the totals at the end of the
year were—
Primary 23
Secondary 24
Three were awaiting admission.
In view of the rapid growth of the secondary department, it was decided towards
the end of the year to separate the primary and secondary departments into two
schools. A headmaster of the secondary school was appointed as from 1st January,
1966.
Changes of Staff
Changes of staff were numerous during the year. The Centre lost two psychiatric
social workers at the end of 1965, and also part of the time of another, who was
appointed as Senior Casework Supervisor, and divides her time between the Mental
Health Service and the Child Guidance Service. As part of her duties she will
undertake the supervision of trainees in both departments.
The lack of psychiatric social workers makes it unlikely that the service will be
all we could wish in 1966.
Future developments
There is still much to do on the preventive side of child guidance. When we have
something nearer to our complete establishment we hope to be able to work out
developments.
We now have two flourishing assessment classes for infants and hope for further
development in the diagnosis and educational treatment of young school children.