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Visitors to the Audiology Unit are very welcome, and indeed encouraged. Some restriction, however,
on the numbers has been necessary because of the limited space available. There are plans to install a oneway
viewing window next year so that the small room next door to the Consulting Room can be used for
visitors. It is hoped then that any worker associated with the care of children, and in particular those who are
associated with hearing handicapped children, will visit the clinic sessions.
During this year we have been visited by Medical Officers in Department, Health Visitors, School
Nurses, Matrons of Day Nurseries, General Practitioner Trainees, Health Visitor Students and Medical Officers
from other areas. We hope that teachers who have partially hearing children in their classes will be able to
visit the clinic in the future. We would welcome any General Practitioners who can spare the time.
In September, 1968, it was decided, as a trial for a year, to test the hearing responses of all sixmonths
old infants in the Neasden Clinic area. With the very generous help of the Health Visitors at the
clinics, who let us have monthly the list of children reaching the age of six months, special screening sessions
were arranged.
Already after the fourth month up to the end of December 1968, some valuable and interesting
information has been obtained.
SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE
Report of the Principal School Dental Officer
Inspection of the mouth of the average school child in the various age groups shows little change
from the last few years in the number of teeth decayed, missing or filled. One encouraging feature particularly
with reference to older children is the smaller number of teeth missing and the correspondingly larger number
of teeth filled. It is obvious that many children who do not accept treatment under the local authority dental
service do in fact receive regular dental treatment elsewhere. With the gradual introduction of more modern
equipment in the clinics and the adoption of more sophisticated techniques in conserving teeth, it has been
possible to further reduce the percentage of teeth extracted to teeth filled. It is however very rare indeed to
find a school leaver who has had no experience of dental caries. It is hard to believe that such a situation
would be tolerated in any other sphere of preventive medicine and, to date, considering the indifference of
parents and children in general the only effective and proven method of prevention is the fluoridation of
public water supplies.
CHILD GUIDANCE SERVICE
Prepared by Mr. C. Graham, B.Sc., Chief Educational Psychologist
More cases have been referred to the Service than ever before, and, unhappily, there is a longer
waiting list at the end of the year than ever before. Below is given for the years since the formation of Brent
the waiting list for children to be seen by the psychologists and psychiatrists:—
Psychologist Psychiatrist
1965 180 63
1966 228 56
1967 284 79
1968 340 116
This waiting list at the end of the year means that, on average, there will be a waiting period before
a child can be seen. This would appear to be about the same as the national average, viz. P.28 "Health of the
School Child 1965." Naturally the urgency of a case will determine its degree of priority.
The Service continues to be organised administratively into the School Psychological Service, where
referrals come largely from head teachers and involve more classroom problems, and the Child Guidance
Centres, where referrals come from others, such as medical sources or parents themselves, where the problems
are more deep-seated emotional ones.
The Service is also divided geographically in that the Kilburn Centre, in Brondesbury Villas, deals
with referrals south of the Borough, and the Kingsbury Centre, in Church Lane, deals with referrals north
of the Borough.
Altogether, during the year, 919 children were referred to either the School Psychological Service or
the Child Guidance Centres, 277 to Kingsbury and 642 to Kilburn.
Type of Referral
Of the referrals to the Child Guidance Centres, a quarter came through the schools, a quarter from
parents themselves and about a third came from medical services, as can be seen from Table 2. It is particularly
encouraging to see an increase from the previous year of the number of referrals from parents themselves.
This group is often found the most profitable since the parents come for advice and are motivated to
attend regularly. The picture is not always the same when "psychological treatment" is recommended, whether
from school or medical sources, for parent and child, who are not too willing to admit to the existence of a
problem.
The very high proportion (about 50%) of children with behaviour disorders is at the same high level
as last year, and of referrals to the School Psychological Service alone (Table 5), there were nearly twice as
many referred for behaviour problems as last year. It cannot be too strongly emphasised that although these
children make life difficult for teachers and parents, they are by no means the only group who need psychological
investigation. It may well be that there are children with nervous, habit and psychosomatic disorders
who do not get referred because they are not particular problems for teachers and parents.