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79
Speech Clinics.
Mrs. M. Walker, the Senior Speech Therapist, reports on the work
of the Speech Clinics during 1957 as follows:—
"The Speech Therapists in the Ilford Area are as follows:—
Mrs. Walker —full-time—Valentines Clinic.
Mrs. McGill—6 sessions per week—Mayesbrook Clinic.
Mrs. Pretious—6 sessions per week—Cerebral Palsy Unit.
4 sessions per week—Manford Way Clinic.
1 session per week-Fairlop School.
There were proportionately fewer absolute discharges in 1957
since we now have an improved follow-up system entailing 3 to 6
monthly check-ups, so that a child may not finally be discharged
until as much as 2 years after completing regular treatment at the
clinics.
It is unfortunate that there are some children who are still in
need of speech therapy when they leave school. These cases are
almost invariably stammerers, and although treatment of stammer is
notoriously long-term it is less likely that regular treatment would be
necessary at such a late age if all children were referred to us as
soon as a stammer became evident. We have made this point before
with reference to pre-school children with any speech difficulty, and
more of these are now referred to us, but we still come across children
who have been stammering with increasing severity for 2 or 3 years
before being referred to a speech therapist. Too often it is suggested
that parents wait and see if the child will 'grow out' of his stammer.
This may be in order to avoid worrying the child by drawing extra
attention to his speech, but since he is continually being reminded of
his speech difficulty in all his social contacts, and so, in fact 'growing
into' a worse form of stammer, it is all the more essential that he
receive help as early as possible.
Attendance has been average this year except, once again, for
the usual fall-off during school holidays.
Ilford speech therapy clinics have at last been issued with an
excellent tape recorder which has been an invaluable asset to treatment
with many different types of cases.
We would like to express our gratitude to the increasing number
of class teachers who are giving their time to individual speech practice
with those children who for one reason or another are unable
to receive proper help in the home."
The defects treated were as follows:—
Stammer 54
Dyslalia 123
Stammer and Dyslalia 5
Hearing Losses 8
Retarded Speech 12
Dysarthria 6
Cleft Palate 7
Rhinolalia 2
Mal Co-ordination 4
Dysphonia 1
Developmental Aphasia