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For the child with a severe reading problem who has
proved unable to respond first to ordinary classroom
teaching, and then to remedial teaching in a small group in
school and to whom the generic term "dyslexic" might
properly apply, there remains the individual remedial help
offered by the School Psychological Service at the Centre.
41 children are seen weekly and nearly half of these now
have the benefit of social work with the parents. This joint
approach has proved to be very fruitful and in some cases
gains in reading age of up to 4 years can be shown over a
2 year period.
New developments
Mrs. Wallis (psychologist) and Mrs. Grigg (Educational
Social Worker) have made monthly visits to a
comprehensive school who do not have a school counsellor.
Their function has been to discuss problem children with
the housemasters, tutors and staff and to advise on
management within the school or possibility of referral to
appropriate agencies outside (School Psychological Service,
Child Guidance Clinic, Social Services Department, etc.).
This has proved a very fruitful use of the psychologist's
time and more may be accomplished by these methods of
consultation then by more laborious and often less
appropriate individual assessments.
Handicapped Pupils
The Education Act places on local education authorities the
duties of ascertaining which pupils in their area are
handicapped and of providing special educational treatment
for such pupils. The several categories of pupils requiring
special educational treatment are defined in the
Handicapped Pupils and Special School Regulations as
follows:
Blind Epileptic
Partially sighted Maladjusted
Deaf Physically handicapped
Partially hearing Suffering from speech
Educationally Defects
sub-normal Delicate
For the purposes of these regulations, ascertainment
applies from the age of two years. A blind or deaf child
must be educated at a special school unless the Minister
approves otherwise.
Special educational treatment for other handicaps may
be provided in ordinary school with the stipulation that the
special educational treatment must be appropriate to the
disability.
The number of handicapped pupils and the arrangements
made for their special educational treatment are shown in
the table overleaf.
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