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The return of handicapped pupils shown about displays the fact that the three
largest categories are children with speech defects, educationally sub-normal and
maladjusted. In contrast, the number of pupils with what may be termed physical
defects has shown a fall over the years and, indeed, the number of delicate pupils is
remarkably low.
The reason for the difference between the "physical" and the "emotional" groups
of handicaps is not hard to discover. Over the past twenty years advances in medical
science have been tremendous and it is possible to treat conditions that a few years
ago would have been untreatable; advances in prevention have also been great and
imporved ante-natal care avoids the production of a large number of damaged babies each
year.
We are left, then, with two groups of handicaps which present a continuing problem.
The first of these is that group of children born with an inherent continuing defect
the origin of which is unknown; this group includes those with such conditions as
congenital perceptive deafness, congenital blindness, and low mental ability. Much
research is going on to establish the basis of such handicaps and in mental deficiency,
particularly, biochemical and chromosome studies continue to reveal fresh information.
The second group in the continuing problem of handicapped pupils is what may be termed
the "emotional' group, that is to say the maladjusted pupil. Over the years the number
of children in this group has risen, reflecting the rise in mental disorder in the
adult community. This grave problem shows no signs of diminishing and is dealt with
in the reports of the consultant child psychiatrists later in this report.