View report page

Speech Therapy
In Nantley House and Feltham a speech therapist attends
once a week. In Brentford however we have not been able
to arrange a regular session due to lack of staff. It is hoped
that the regular attendance of a speech therapist in this
Nursery may soon be possible.
Audiology
The audiometricians from Heston Hearing Clinic attend all
the Nurseries on request.
Physiotherapy
A Physiotherapist attends the handicapped unit in Nantly
House three times a week.
Problems
The main problem encountered has been delay in admission
and filling of vacant places despite a long waiting list.
This has principally been due to an exceptional number
of cases of diseases such as measles, chicken-pox and
mumps.
Recently however, discussions have been taking place on
methods whereby children can be admitted on a selective
basis during a period of quarantine. It will be necessary for
the parents to sign a consent form stating their awareness
of the presence of the disease in the Nursery. In the case of
measles however only children with a measles innoculation
or those who have already had the disease may be admitted.
In the case of handicapped children and those under 2
years of age strict exclusion is maintained regardless of the
disease present. It is hoped that this may allow vacant
places to be filled more quickly and ease the waiting list.
Anothe problem has been the difficulty in filling all the
available under two year old places. In spite of liaison with
social workers and health visitors several places remain
vacant.
Conclusion
The Day Nurseries continue to do excellent work in spite
of some minor problems. For the smooth running of the
units it is essential that close liaison is maintained between
Health and Social Service Departments.
Social Workers' Report
I am grateful to Mrs. C. Wisdom, AIMSW, Mrs. D. E. Cooke,
BA, AIMSW, and Mrs. B. M. Doherty, CSW, Social Workers,
for the following report. Mrs. Wisdom, Mrs. Cooke and
Mrs. Doherty are seconded from the Social Services
Department for special duties with handicapped children.
We have had another interesting and fruitful year. The work
continues to increase and pressures are greater. The Social
Worker provides information and a link between clinic,
home and school, as well as with many other agencies. We
are part of a team promoting the interest of the child
within the family by identifying and trying to resolve
problems and difficulties. We feel ourselves fortunate in
being able to engage in long-term casework. Situated as we
are outside the Area Teams, we are not subjected to the
immense pressures that their statutory tluties impose on
them. By and large our energies are not directed towards
solving immediate crises.
Casework can extend throughout the child's school life
— in the case of Martindale Physically Handicapped School,
from the age of 3 to 19. This gives time to know families
and to form worthwhile relationships. There is time for
opinions and attitudes to be aired; time to help parents
accept their handicapped children and to come to terms
with the many problems which beset them.
Our contact with colleagues in the Social Service
Department has increased and it is with confidence that
we approach them for help. Their co-operation and the
opportunity to discuss cases is necessary in some instances
in deciding who is the most appropriate social worker to be
involved with a family. Free interchange of case notes and
information takes place. We are also appreciative of the help
and cooperation we receive from the School Health
Service who provide a relevant and important background
to the families with whom we work. We see the liaison
between the different departments of health, education and
social services as a fundamental part of our work providing
a comprehensive picture of the child.
In March Mrs. B. Doherty was appointed as part-time
Social Worker at the School for Deaf and the Hearing
Clinic. Her previous experience in both hospital and local
authority has made her contribution a valuable one. She
has found that almost one third of her new referrals were
children presenting speech problems, but on examination
there proved to be no hearing loss, and further contact with
the clinic ceased. However, many of the children were
manifesting their experience of emotional stress in the
home, and all aged under 5 years, had an unsatisfactory or
damaged relationship with their mother. This is the ideal
situation to undertake preventive work, but in the normal
course of events these children appear to fall outside the
network of social work help, as they are not disturbed
enough to require Child Guidance help.
A major focus of her time and concern is devoted to the
small group (8) of deaf/blind children who are scattered
throughout 5 Boroughs. Parents require a great deal of
support and the lack of provision nationally for this
minority group gives rise to many anxieties.
Mrs. Cooke has found that her work, involving
increasingly close liaison with Busch House and Marjory
Kinnon Schools, has tended to concentrate on three
particular areas of need. Firstly, on one-present families, of
which she has 16 in her caseload. Secondly, since Dr.
Calwell from the Child Guidance Clinic has been attending
Marjory Kinnon School on a termly basis to give help with
children with behaviour problems, the number of referrals
to the families has increased greatly, from 2 in 1971 to 9 in
1972. Thirdly, she has tried to ensure that particularly the
children in large families with many problems have had a
summer holiday. The children in 8 families went away
under the recuperative holiday scheme, and in the case of
3 families, the whole family went to a holiday camp run by
Blackfriars Settlement, the money being raised from
voluntary funds. In addition to this Mrs. Cooke undertook
the supervision of a social work student from the
Polytechnic of North London from January to July 1972
45