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CHILDREN WITH MULTIPLE REFECTS. Children handicapped by more than one defect often
present a serious problem in arranging suitable education, as there are so few schools which
specialise in the education of children with dual disabilities. There is need for further
provision which can only be made on a national basis, since no authority is likely to have
more than three or four children with any particular combination of disabilities. In the
year 1956, four cases were known to the Authority. The particulars are as follows:-
At Elizabeth Fry Special School
1 girl, aged 15 years Physically handicapped (alopecia) and educationally
sub-normal.
1 girl, aged 10 years Physically handicapped and educationally sub-normal.
1 girl, aged 13 years Physically handicapped and partially sighted.
At Ryder Special School
1 girl, aged 13 years Blind and educationally sub-normal (waiting admission
to Gondover Hall)
EDUCATION SERVICES
Close liaison with many of the education services Is essential In the interests of
the health and well-being of the pupils. Among those which present special considerations
relating to physical or mental health are the nursery and sp.ecial schools, the youth
employment bureau and also the remedial classes for backward children which come within the
scope of the school psychological service. All these are the responsibility of the Chief
Education Officer to whom I am indebted for much of the material in these sections of the
report.
A,school psychological service has been provided for some time by the local education
authority. The part which such a service can play in preventing maladjustment from arising
or worsening is great. It is chiefly In the schools that early deviations from normal
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emotional development are seen, and It is there that skilled observers should recognise them
as soon as they appear and deal with them if they fall within the field of education or
psychology. Many emotional problems which arise in childhood have their roots in educational
strain, and they can be solved by wise handling and adjustment within the educational system.
The local education authority look to the educational psychologist for advice on many
educational problems, both general and particular. Teachers will seek her help on their
perplexities regarding the behaviour or learning difficulties of individual pupils. For the
school psychological service to be effective all groups of workers - school medical officers,
teachers, school nurses - all experts in their respective ways - have to be taken into account.
Between them they know a great deal about the handicaps, schooling, physical and emotional
progress, background and home conditions. If the child is felt to have an emotional disturbance
which cannot satisfactorily be dealt with in the school, the educational psychologist will
refer the child to the child guidance clinic for full investigation by the team established
there. It is essential that the psychologist be a member of the child guidance team.
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