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126
SPEECH CLINICS.
Mrs. M. Walker, the Senior Speech Therapist, reports
on the work of the Speech Clinics during 1959 as
follows
"The Speech Therapists working in the Ilford area
during 1959 were as follows:-
Mrs. Walker - full-time Valentines Clinic
and schools
Mrs. McGill - 6 sessions Mayesbrook Clinic
per week and schools
Mrs. Pretious - full-time Manford Way and
Valentines Clinics,
Cerebral Palsy Unit
and schools.
This has been a 'bumper year' for attendances
at the Speech Therapy clinics exceptforthe recurrent
fall-off during school holidays. In spite of this, however,
discharge numbers are lower than usual. This
is partly due to the late referral of so many stammerers,
who, unless they are seen early while the
stammer is still in the primary 'easy' phase tend to
need years of treatment, and thus to occupy at least
one treatment period per week, more or less permanently.
On the brighter side retarded language cases are
being referred earlier resulting on the whole in better
prognoses, from the general educational as well as
from the speech point of view.
More clinics are being held in schools, where
there are sufficient speech-defective children to
carry a complete session, and although contact with
parents cannot be so good, this is offset by the fact
that very few treatments are mis sed by these children.
We are sorry to be losing the services of Mrs.
McGill, who has done such invaluable work in the
Mayesbrook area and I trust we shall be receiving a
replacement of an equally high standard."