View report page

47
Day Nurseries
Visits to day nurseries have continued. Each clinic is responsible for a nursery, and the Therapist
concerned undertakes regular visits in order to:—
1. Assess any children causing concern.
2. Advise nursery staff.
3. Treat children should numbers warrant a session.
4. Meet parents and discuss any relevant problems, etc.
Ideally more time should be spent in the nurseries as earlier diagnosis, management and treatment of
children with speech and language disorders is desirable, and thus acts as a preventative measure.
Schools
Regular visits to all primary schools have been undertaken since September. This has proved most
valuable, bringing the Therapist into closer contact with the teacher. The aims of the visits are to assess any
children referred, to obtain further information about children already under treatment, to discuss treatment
aims with the teachers involved, and to carry out a treatment session where the number of children warrant
this. In addition to this, visits have been made to the partially hearing unit at Kingsbury Green School.
Stammer Group—a programme of Intensive Treatment
In view of the number of children referred to us with stammers, and the long term nature of the
treatment, it was decided to hold a two week intensive treatment course for stammerers between the ages of
12 to 15.
Courses
During the year provision was made for three Speech Therapists to attend one day of the National
Conference of Speech Therapists at Bedford in September. Two Speech Therapists attended a symposium on
severe subnormality held by the Inner London Education Authority, also in September. Four Speech Therapists
attended a joint meeting of the British Society of Audiology and the College of Speech Therapists held in
December.
The improvement in the Speech Therapy Service for Brent has been made possible by the involvement
and high standard of work by all the Speech Therapists working in the Borough and it is hoped that with an
increase in establishment there will be a further extension of the service in 1973.

* Numbers include those children under observation.