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10
Blind, Deaf and Epileptic Children.
An analysis of children falling under this head is given
in Table III, in which is fully set out the type of education and
treatment received. The condition of affairs shown is that
existing at approximately the last day of the year. Every
possible care is taken in classifying those ooncerned when
routine medical inspection has been completed. It will be
appreciated that under the new arrangement some diminution
in the time available has occurred. Every endeavour has,
however, been made by most careful scrutiny of the cases to
ensure that re-examination is carried out where necessary.
The sources from which information is obtained are chiefly
as follows:—Routine Medical Inspections, information received
from the Maternity and Child Welfare Section regarding those
about to enter schools, special inspections at the school clinics,
and children brought to our notice by parents and teachers.
It will be noticed that we have no blind children but 9 who
are partially blind are attending public elementary schools.
There are no deaf children in our area but 5 children who
are partially deaf are attending elementary schools.
The problems of the deaf child are being investigated by
a Committee set up by the Board of Education. The lack of
precision in estimating the degree of minor deafness renders
the decision as to the need for special treatment in these cases
extremely difficult. Large scale investigations have been made
with a special instrument which measures the disability and
records it in standard terms, and it is claimed that deafness can
be measured with accuracy. The instrument is, however,
cumbersome and costly and has not yet come into general use.
Nursery Schools.
There are no nursery schools provided by this Authority.
Parents’ Payments.
A scale of charges is in operation for the recovery of the
cost of treatment at the minor ailments clinic from those who
are able to contribute. There is also a scale of charges for
those in receipt of treatment at the dental and ophthalmic
clinics.
A fee has been fixed also for Secondary School Children
who attend our Dental and Ophthalmic Clinics, for which the
Higher Education Authority is responsible.
Health Education.
A combined Health and Safety Week for the schools was
held on October 7th to 12th. In addition, as usual, the attention
of Head Teachers has been drawn to official publications