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43
are the routine ones supplied at the Clinic—the more expensive
ones are only ordered if there is a specific request by the parent.
Our figures this year shew that 304 nickel, 66 rolled gold, and 22
rolled gold and shellite were provided.
In conclusion I should like to emphasize the extreme importance
of obtaining the intelligent co-operation of the parent in the
work of the Eye Clinic. It is useless and a waste of time to prescribe
spectacles unless they are worn regularly. Thus a careless
mother can nullify the whole work of the Clinic in respect of her
child. To avoid this I take every opportunity of explaining to
parents what the spectacles do and why they are necessary, and I
endeavour to make parents realise that they themselves are factors
of the greatest importance in the treatment of their children's eye
defects. I am convinced that the measure of this realisation by the
parents is the measure of success of the work of any Eye Clinic.
Although not strictly belonging to the work of the Eye Clinic
I append below tables showing an analysis of the results of vision
testing at the routine medical inspections this year. These have
been made for three years—the previous tables having been included
in the Annual Reports of 1928 and 1929. There is also an
additional table giving the combined results for the 3 years. These
tables show the amount of uncorrected or unsatisfactorily corrected
visual defect found at the routine medical inspections, i.e., children
who were found to be in need of treatment or observation at the
time of examination. They are not therefore an index of the total
amount of visual defect in the school children of the area. Five
year old children have not been included as it is often impossible
to test their vision at their first examination. This is done at the
subsequent re-inspection, but the findings cannot be included as
many re-inspections are made in the following year. Ages 11, 14,
15, and 16 refer only to children at the Spring Grove Central School,
where all children are examined annually. The other ages are the
Code Age Groups of 8 and 12 (5 being omitted) with the secondary
smaller groups of 6, 9, and 13 being children absent from the
previous medical inspection.
E. L. ROBERTS.