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Child Guidance Clinics
During 1960 Dr. W.H, Craike, the consultant psychiatrist to the Lordship Lane Clinic, held
two sessions per week to deal with the multiple conditions referred to him. Difficult behaviour
at home and school, truancy and nocturnal enuresis formed the hard core of his problems; but
children presenting a broad spectrum of psychosomatic symptoms were referred to him by both
school medical officers and teachers. Dr. C. Phillips, who also undertook two sessions a week,
left in March to take up an appointment in the United States of America and a replacement had
not been appointed by the end of the year. Consequently, Dr. Craike's case load was heavily
increased and there was a long waiting list of children for diagnostic interview at the end of the
year.
The year under review was one of transition in the Hornsey Child Guidance Clinic owing to
the departure of Dr. Phillips who attended this clinic as well as the one in Tottenham and we were
fortunate in obtaining the services, as locum tenens, of Dr. Rachel Shackleton. Nevertheless,
the problems and the pressure of cases remained essentially the same as in Tottenhamand much
valuable work was done in maintaining this vital feature of the School Health Service.
Speech Therapy
During 1960the speech therapists held frequent consultations with parents, teachers, health
visitors, school medical officers and other specialists, in addition to maintaining their regular
treatment programme.
School visiting formed an integral part of the work and it is now accepted practice for school
staffs to consult the speech therapist about any child with a communication problem. This close
liaison helps the child with a stammer during the stress periods of his school life, with their
new pressures and demands. These most commonly occur during the first year in the infant,
junior and senior schools,
Miss Joan Came, the senior speech therapist, emphasises that deviation in language development
may be significant from the age of two years, and requires early investigation. Where the
speech therapist finds a history suggestive of brain damage, hearing loss, severe emotional