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Twenty one schools, including the three nursery schools, were visited
during 1969 and good co-operation with the teachers continued. Children
were referred from neurologists, paediatricians and speech therapists at
the following hospitals:-
Edgware General
Mount Vernon
Great Ormond Street
The total number of children referred to the Speech Therapy Department
during 1969 was 198 (102 school age, 96 pre-school). Another 57
children were referred for an opinion but did not require treatment. In
addition there were 168 children admitted during 1968 or earlier still
receiving treatment. The total case load for 1969 was 423. Discharges
totalled 111 and most of these children have now normal speech.
A few children were discharged for non-attendance or referred elsewhere
after leaving the district.
Three students from the West End Hospital Training School observed
treatment in clinics during 1969.
CHILD GUIDANCE AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
1 am indebted to the Director of Education Mr. R. S. Ball, for the
following reports on the work of the Child Guidance and School Psychological
Services during the year.
Child Guidance Service
Dr. J. R. Hood, M.B., D.P.M., Consultant in Child Psychiatry
reports as follows:-
The child guidance centre provides a consultative service to the
school health service, head teachers, general practitioners, paediatricians
and other hospital specialists, the Courts and the social agencies. Its chief
agents are the consultant psychiatrist and the educational psychologists,
to whom all formal requests for an opinion are addressed. The other
members of the team—psychiatric social workers and child psychotherapists
provide a special form of psychological treatment, i.e. psychotherapy,
as a means of dealing with emotionally disturbed children and their
parents.