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changed following the greatly improved nutrition of school-children in
general, and there are now no cases of " malnutrition " as such in the
school, only the 17 debilitated children referred to above. As this change
in nutrition has gone on, it has become increasingly possible to fill the
vacancies available at the Open Air School with physically handicapped
children for whom no provision had been made in the past.
This tendency to become more specifically a school for children often
very severely handicapped physically, culminated in 1948 in the formation
of a small " Spastic Class " for the treatment of suitable cases of cerebral
palsy. This class while termed " spastic " owing to its primary object, also
takes in several children who, by reason of their handicaps, are unsuitable
for inclusion in an ordinary class even in the Open Air School. During
1950 the composition of the class was as follows: —
Spastic diplegia 7
Muscular dystrophy 3
Astrocytoma and paraplegia *1
* Discharged for home tuition during year.
One spastic child was discharged on removal from the area.
Special apparatus is available and every effort is made by practice and
exercises to encourage the children to overcome their handicap. Owing to
lack of space and limited accommodation, there are at present 4 cases of
cerebral palsy awaiting admission to the class, which at present meets in
a converted air raid shelter.
All children attending the Open Air School are given full medical
examination on admission, and thereafter at six-monthly intervals. A
medical officer attends weekly for the purpose and also sees such children
as are referred for special examination at the request of either Head Teacher
or parent. Recommendations are made to attend the special clinics and
also as to the amount of exercises individual children should undergo;
recommendations for shower baths and natural sunshine are also made.
All children receive cod liver oil and have a rest period during the lunch
hour, and an effort is' made to follow special diets in exceptional cases.
A course of asthma injections has been given to 10 children during
the year and children suffering from lung diseases are given daily deepbreathing
exercises.
The rest hall destroyed by a bomb in 1944 is now being rebuilt and
when the increased accommodation becomes available, it is hoped further
to extend the activities of the school, so as to accommodate the original
number of 115 children.