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148
I thank them for their energetic help in following up hearingimpaired
children with the appropriate otologist or other specialist
or department.
Expenditure has been mainly on the purchase and maintenance
of powerful hearing aids and controlled trials indicate that
severely deaf children benefit from our being able to obtain these.
Continued thanks go to all who help, support or take an
interest in the work with deaf children in Bromley.
Handicapped Pupils
It is the duty of the local authority to ascertain those children
in its area who, having attained the age of two years, may
require special educational treatment. These children usually
come to the attention of the School Health Service through the
Health Visitors, the Chief Education Officer, Parents and Hospitals.
The officially recognised types of handicaps are: —Blind,
Partially Sighted, Deaf, Partially Hearing, Physically Handicapped,
Delicate, Maladjusted, Educationally Sub-Normal,
Epileptic and Speech Defects.
Once a child has been ascertained as handicapped surveillance
is maintained and recommendations for special educational treatment
are forwarded to the Chief Education Officer for his consideration
and action. Special appointments are arranged for the
Medical Officer to see these children, either at a Clinic or at the
child's home, depending usually on the degree or type of handicap.
Before a recommendation is made the advice of the various
appropriate Hospital Consultants, with whom there is a very close
liaison, is sought.
During the year 59 boys and 36 girls were assessed as needing
special educational treatment at special schools. Details of the
various handicaps are included in the following table.
The Borough is fortunate in possessing four day special
schools for educationally sub-normal pupils, and a report on each
of these schools will be found later in this Report.
It is anticipated that work will start on the School for
Physically Handicapped children at Coopers, Chislehurst, early
in 1972, as final siting has been decided. This will be between the
two main blocks of the present school, with direct access for the
special vehicles required for the handicapped children.
Obtaining the best possible arrangements for the education
of the handicapped child requires time and patience, but the
effort involved is fully justified by the results obtained. It should
be stressed that the assessment of a handicapped child does not
consist merely in appraising the defects. The assets—what the
child can do, the total environment etc., must not be forgotten.