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109
Meetings have been held with head teachers of secondary schools in
Hornsey and Tottenham to seek their co operation and to ensure the success of
the scheme.
Tuberculin "Patch Tests" and School Entrants
During the year the Area Committee agreed that routine patch testing of
children should be carried out during their first year at school, subject to
the approval of Hornsey and Tottenham Education Committees. This has since
been obtained.
Tuberculin testing of children at the age of five years can be carried
out very simply by the so called "jelly patch" method.
Fewer than 5% of children of five years of age are likely to be "patch
positive" though, this may vary from school to school and from time to time.
It should, however, provide an excellent means of assessing the progress made
in the drive against tuberculosis.
A five year old child who is "patch positive" may have been infected at
home, and arrangements will be made for a follow-up investigation of the home
contacts of such children. It has been said that from such investigations
one case of undiagnosed infectious tuberculosis is discovered for every 250
children patch tested.
Speech Therapy
There are two whole time and three part-time speech therapists employed
in the Area, equivalent to three whole time staff. The following comments on
the work of the department have been made by the Head Speech Therapist, Miss
J. Came, L.C.S.T.:-
"The value of preventive work with the toddlers has again been demonstrated
in 1954 Thanks to parent co-operation, many children with delayed
speech development or primary stammer were found to show improvement when
reviewed after a few months. Several have later achieved normal speech
without clinic attendance.
In the older age groups, stammerers form the highest proportion of
children attending speech clinics. Environmental factors and the surprising
number of popular misconceptions on the nature of this distressing handicap
may seriously jeopardise successful treatment. Here, too, the co-operation
of parents and teachers is essenti al, and the therapist uses every opportunity
to educate the general public on its responsibilities towards the stammerer.
Staff changes in Hornsey last autumn have not seriously interrupted
continuity of treatment, owing to speedy re- appointments.