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an ordinary, healthy adult if, first his mother, and later, both
parents have the knowledge of how to provide a suitable setting in
which the child can grow up* He becomes ill as a reaction to the
failure of maternal (parental) understanding, their failure to
adapt to his needs, and often active interference with each stage
of his development. This last is because of failure to realise
that each child has its own natural speed of acquiring skill,
control and knowledge, and that it should be allowed to go at that
speed and not at one decided upon by the parents,, Several
factors may bring this about.. The parents themselves may be
mentally sick, they may be misadvised, or commonly, uninformed,
though they are willing and eager to do their best within the
limits of their knowledge. Quite often, parents act on what they
think is knowledge but which quite often turns out to be popular
mythology; for these parents, and those who have difficulty
because of their anxieties, help is provided in the clinic during
the interview. For those whose difficulties are greater because
of a more severe emotional disorder, adequate facilities for
psychiatric tratment must ultimately be provided elsewhere*
We think that this new venture is the beginning of a really
worthwhile fusion of therapeutic and preventive medicine"*
Epileptic Children
In December 1953 the Minister of Health issued Circular
26/53 concerning the special welfare needs of epileptics and
spastics Statistics published in this circular gave an estimate
of the number of epileptics in the British population as 2.0 per
1,000 which in the school population of Tottenham and Hornsey
means an expected finding of approximately 60 epileptics* Similar
statistics for the number of epileptic children severe enough
to be ascertained are 0*2 per 1,000 which would give an expected
number in Tottenham and Hornsey of six children.
The actual number of epileptic children known to the school
health service is 61,
As a result of the issue of the Ministry circular certain
steps were taken. Firstly, it was decided to keep a record
°f all cases of epilepsy coming to the notice of the school
health service. General practitioners in the Area were circularised
and requested to inform the borough school medical officer
°f all known and suspected cases as soon as possible after the age
,°f two; secondly, to continue the practice previously employed