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The system whereby the technician using the Keystone and the orthoptist visit senior schools together was
extended during 1970. This method avoids disrupting a class twice, and the children can give information
there and then, as to whether they are undergoing or have had treatment.
1360 children were Keystone tested in senior schools under these arrangements. Of these, 420 (30.8%) were
referred to the orthoptist as Keystone 'failures'. 285 of these children (68%) were confirmed as failures by
the orthoptist. The orthoptist referred 49 of these (17.2%) for investigation at the ophthalmic clinic; 150
(52.6%) were found to be already under treatment; and 86 (30.2%) had defects in a minor degree which
did not require further action.
This type of vision testing is repetitious and could become very monotonous for the technician to do con tinuously.
However, by alternating these tests with those of hearing, this disadvantage is obviated to some extent."
Speech Therapy
Mrs. E.R.P. McKeown, Senior Speech Therapist, reports as follows:—
"At the end of the year, one full-time and four part-time speech therapists were providing, in all, 31 sessions
per week at eight school health clinics, the Vale School and the William C. Harvey Junior Training School,
which was opened in September 1970. For six of these sessions student therapists have visited our clinics and
received practical training under the supervision of the speech therapist.
Number of attendances made by children in 1970:
Under five years — 682
Over five years — 2,999
Total 3,681
In 1970, a senior speech therapist was appointed to concentrate on the co-ordination of the speech therapy
service and, in particular, to expedite the counselling service which was established in 1969. Under this
service parents are receiving initial advice more quickly with the result that waiting lists have been reduced.
Therapists have established regular visiting of schools, and teachers have been most helpful in referring for
screening those pupils who appear to need treatment. Therapists aim to see all reception class pupils during
the year.
There is an encouraging awareness in this cosmopolitan borough of the importance of speech and language
development. But, even so, in certain areas there are ethnic groupings which present diagnostic difficulties
for the Speech Therapist because when the children from these groups start school some of them neither
understand nor speak English."
Child Guidance Service
The Borough has two Child Guidance Centres — at Lordship Lane, Tottenham, where Dr. Nina Meyer is Medical
Director, and at Tetherdown, Hornsey, where the Medical Director is Dr. K. Graf. The administrative director
of the child guidance and school psychological service is Mr. B.J. Watkins, Senior Educational Psychologist.
Dr. Meyer reports on the year's work at Lordship Lane —
"Referrals to this Clinic for the years 1968/71, have been broken down into age groups; interesting findings
have emerged. The largest number of referrals is in the age group 0 — 5: in the other two groups, 5 — 10 and
10 — 15, the numbers are roughly equal.
It is now eight years since we started seeing pre school children: many of these infants and toddlers are now
at school. Their school reports often describe these children as basically normal, functioning well and happily;
teachers constantly express surprise that they were ever referred to the Clinic. The number of re-referrals is
in the region of 3%. One feels the future of Child Guidance must increasingly le in the treatment of the early
disturbances of childhood and in the cementing of the first mother/child relationship.
In the last two years Nurseries have been able to contain and help many severely disturbed children. The
appointment of an Occupational Therapist working in the Nurseries, with whom the Psychiatrist maintains
dose weekly contact, has contributed to this. Discussion of children in Nurseries has resulted in greater ability
to integrate children who would otherwise be regarded as impossible to help. The work of the Occupational
Therapist has now branched out to include Students; the period of their stay in the Nurseries has been raised
from four to six weeks — an indication that the Institute of Occupational Therapists regards this part of their
training as important and worthwhile. The Hornsey Art College is also contributing by providing creative toys
for the children, and we have a voluntary helper, who wishes to become an art therapist.
The Educational Psychologists attached to this Clinic eighteen months ago, have developed increasing skill
in helping with the management of disturbances of children at school. This has followed regular weekly
discussion at the Clinic with the Psychiatrist, aimed to delineate disturbances of childhood into definite
syndromes. These skills have resulted in rewarding counselling of school teaching staff, and in the allocating
of resources of Opportunity Classes.
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