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As Mrs.Nathan, the Educational Psychologist has been attached to the clinic for
five years now, and has had time to consider the ways in which her special skills can
be utilised in this area, and with the time at her disposal, most of the rest of this
report will be directed to her account of her work.
The Educational Psychologist continued working six sessions per week. Her time
is taken up by routine testing at the clinic of all children referred as well as by testing
at schools of special cases where there is lack of parental co-operation or where
mother is unable to bring the child to the clinic because she has to go to work.
She also visits maternity and child welfare clinics to test some of the under
school age children. With the introduction of the Griffith's Scale tests, she is now
able to test very young babies, and this is helpful not only with those very young, but
with older children who have the mentality of young babies. Apart from the value
generally of an early prognosis, an assessment of the mental potential is very helpful
in cases of proposed adoption.
When testing school children, it is important not only to find out the child's
innate ability, but also his achievement. Where achievement, as shown on standardized
Scales is very much below ability, it is important to find the cause for this. The
causes may be manifold - it may be emotional disturbance or difficult home background
or some specific disability such as poor visual or oral perception or just simply missing
a long period of schooling through some childish illness whilst in the infant school, and
then being moved up to Junior department before the child is able to cope with the work
there. Full investigation would decide whether the child needs psychiatric treatment or
whether the treatment may have to be carried out by the psychiatric social worker through
the parents or whether it is purely educational and has to be dealt with by the Educational
Psychologist. Sometimes the treatment has to be carried out Jointly by two or even all
three members of the Child Guidance team, according to the needs of the child.
In cases of severe retardation, the Educational Psychologist may take the child on
for remedial coaching. In these cases she has not only to find the right method for each
child to make quick progress, but has to direct her coaching towards changing the child's
attitude to learning and giving him confidence in his own ability. In this way she has
managed often with only half-an-hour weekly coaching to get the child to cover a year's
work or more in very few months. In one case of severe perceptual difficulty, a boy of
ten at the time of referral has attended for two years, but he is now beginning to read
and write. He is one of those cases who would, years ago, have been described as "word
blind" and probably never learned to read and write.
By arrangement with the Education Department, Miss Walker attends the Child Guidance
Clinic for two days a week to help with remedial coaching under the Educational
Psychologist's supervision. This has been of great help and made it possible to increase
the number of children taken on for coaching. The Educational Psychologist also takes
special interest in the remedial coaching classes now being established by the Education
Department, in order to get the most value out of these classes the right selection of
children is most important. Obviously, the very dull ones (below I.Q.85) who are very
slow learners and usually immature should be dealt with at school in the lowest streams,
and in small classes. Those above I.Q.85 whose achievement is below 15# of ability in
reading, spelling or arithmetic would benefit most from the remedial classes, However,
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