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58
asked for facilities to be given to examine as many retarded young
children in the community as possible, and his request was granted.
All the examinations were carried out successfully, full co-operation
having been obtained from nearly every parent. Expressing his
appreciation for the help received. Professor Elek indicated that
Bromley has contributed a major share for his survey, namely 50
cases out of the total of 300, the rest coming from the remaining 31
London Boroughs. The St. George's Hospital research project also
includes 300 controls, and at the time of this report going to press,
the results were being analysed.
A very detailed two-phased survey of the social and emotional
problems facing families with a mentally handicapped member
is planned by the Mental Health Section. The first phase will cover
children under 16 and the second will include the rest of all the
cases in the community. The aim of this survey is twofold. Firstly
it will enable the Medical Officer of Health to advise the Council
in detail on the needs and usage of the local authority's services
and secondly it would test certain assumptions and predictions
recently made in the scientific publications.
SCADS HILL TRAINING CENTRE
Supervisor: Mrs. Dorothy Hodgman
Senior Asst. Supervisor: Mrs. S. I. Walton
The high standard of work at the Centre which accommodates
Juniors and Adults continued throughout the year. Three new staff
were appointed, one qualified Assistant Supervisor, one with
relevant nursing experience, and one Assistant Trainee Supervisor.
The general health and vigour of the trainees remained good
throughout and the annual medical inspections carried out for all
the age groups in the summer revealed lower incidence of defect
than usually found in schools.
The numbers on the roll are given in table VI under the
heading "Problems of Training Centre Placements".
A new classroom provided by the Council will be opened
early in 1967. This will relieve the congestion and enable the urgent
cases from the waiting list to be admitted.
There are six Special Care children at the Centre, i.e. children
with multiple handicaps and five adolescents functioning at such
a low level that only a limited social training can be attempted.
These "children" are still in the community because on one hand
their parents wish to care for them and on the other, the staff accept
them at the Centre. If it was not for the devotion and hard work
on the part of the staff most of these "children" would have long
since been in a subnormality hospital.