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Wolfson centre have visited the school and
discussed the problems of caring for the
children at home Parents have been welcomed
at the school where thev have been given
advice and help
Hanworth junior training school
The physiotherapist attended the school for
two sessions a week if the needs of the 18
children whom it is thought might benefit bv
treatment are to be met it is felt that more
time for physiotherapy should be made
available Several of these children require
dailv supervision of walking etc which is
undertaken by the helpers whenever their
other duties permit There are many situations
which require skilled hands particularly the
management of spina bifida ileostomies and
children prone to fits There is no qualified
nurse employed at the school at present but
provision has been made to meet this
deficiency in the near future
Knowledge of the full medical histories
of cases is of paramount importance in
treatment bv physiotherapy and thought is
now being given to making this knowledge
available to the physiotherapist at the school
Another responsibility of the physiotherapist
is the choice of the correct apparatus for
standing sitting mobility etc for each
child The appropriate apparatus can usualIv
be supplied
This is a very happv school which by its
very essence is run under great difficulties
and anything done to ease the burdens of the
staff is always much appreciated
Speech therapv report by Mrs DE Cox senior
speech therapist,
During 1970 speech therapy in the junior
training schools continued as in the previous
year with mixed individual and group therapv
The increasing number of children requiring
individual help has curtailed the more general
work in the classroom that was started earlier
at Isleworth Junior Training School
There are still only two sessions per week
at each training school but although limited
this amount of help allows progress to be
made especially when speech therapy is
closely backed up by the teacher in the class
room
There is a great need for a closer link with
the parents The holiday period has many
demands on the speech therapy service and
home visits during these times are necessarily
restricted in number It is hoped to try various
methods of establishing contact with parents
during the coming year
The present number of sessions per week
at each school allows only a small proportion
of the children needing help to be seen while
the remainder are kept under supervision with
advice given to the teacher concerned and
parents where this is possible Current trends
in speech therapy are heavily weighted in
favour of intensive treatment This enables
the length of treatment to be considerably cut
where there is a favourable prognosis, Where
the child has multiple disabilities isolated
speech therapv on a once a week basis shows
negligible progress and the treatment must
be regular long term supportive and fully
integrated into the child s environment both
home and school This applies to both speech
defects from physical causes and retarded
language development involving perception and
other difficulties Where daily speech therapy
is dovetailed into the teaching programme much
greater progress has been made
Therefore much more time is needed for the
speech therapist in the junior training schools
so that children can receive intensive short
term treatment regular long term help in
association with their general training programme
and so that the therapist has sufficient time
to make the maximum contact with the parents
both to give advice on the parent s role in the
training needed and to help and support the
parents in their anxiety over their childrens
difficulties with speech and language
Other Day Establishments
Heston Day Centre
This centre now in its second year provides a
service for 60 elderlv people Although the
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