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15
Glasses may or may not be required after treatment
but attractive frames are now made t o suit everyone and they
can be worn easily by anyone.
SPEECH THERAPY
Contributed by Miss J.A. Rasor, L.C.S.T., and
Mrs. C.S. Yorke, L.C.S.T.
Speech Therapy as we know it today, is a product of this
century. In 1906 Manchester opened its first classes for
stammerers and in 1911 an Instructor in Voice Production was
appointed at St. Bartholomew s Hospital. 1913 saw the establishment
of a clinic at St. Thomas's Hospital under the
auspices of the Central School of Speech Training. By 1918 the
L.C.C. had established four school centres for stammerers.
Walthamstow was not far behind as in 1925 classes for stammerers
were held on two afternoons a week, first at Marsh Street, and
then at Mission Grove School.
By 1934 two professional associations had been formed. The
British Society of Speech Therapists and the Association of
Speech Therapists. In keeping with this development a report
was submitted to the Walthamstow Committee on 'Stammering and
Other Speech Defects' and as a result, in 1936 a qualified
Speech Therapist was appointed. She was faced with 254 children
who had been recommended for treatment and group work was considered
the answer. Each group attended twice weekly for one
hour, the school bus bringing the younger children. Classes
were discontinued at the outbreak of war but recommenced in 1941.
In 1944 the two professional bodies were united as the
College of Speech Therapists and a three year training and a set
syllabus was agreed. Meanwhile in Walthamstow numbers were
growing tremendously and it was not until 1947 when a second
therapist was appointed that moves were made towards more
individual therapy. 1955 heralded a great change. It was at
last possible to arrange individual appointments for the majority
of children.
As they are today the Walthamstow school clinics are
typical of many in the country, and the following cases may
serve to illustrate the work and its link with other Child
Welfare Services.
N.C. This girl had a paralysed soft palate giving the type of
speech that is typical of the cleft palate patient, including
defective articulation and excessive nasal tone. Articulation
improved after treatment, but tone of voice was still defective.