View report page

120
In September I reported:—
While Dr. Oates has been going round the schools on
medical inspection, I have asked him to examine and report
the number of mentally defective children existing in the
schools. At the present time, he reports that there are 54,
and their total ages are as under:—
Years
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No. of children
11 13 7 5 8 7 2 1
These are all children who can be classified as mentally
defective and requiring special treatment.
Defects of Speech.—1 per cent. showed various defects
of speech. Slight defects of speech, such as lisping and
baby-talk, are common amongst the younger children, but
are of no permanent importance. The cases of stammering
and stuttering which occur amongst the older children are of
greater importance. While certain cases improve and get
better, a number persist to adolescence and adult life. For
these latter nothing except individual careful training from
an expert teacher is of avail. At present but little is done
amongst poor children for the cure of stammering. It is to
be hoped that Education Authorities may see their way in
the course of time to give the matter their attention.
Condition of the Ears.—1.4 per cent. of those
examined were found to be deaf to such an extent that their
educational progress was being retarded. In many children
an excessive amount of wax was discovered. This is a
common cause of slight deafness. Another cause is the presence
of adenoids. Continued ear discharge leads ultimately
to permanent deafness. The condition of "running ears"
was found in 3.2 per cent. of children, and many other
scholars were stated to have suffered from it in the past.
This state is most often found to be due to the presence of
adenoids, and the removal of the latter usually affords a