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Regular case conferences are therefore held, so that problems can be discussed
and suitable action decided upon by those workers who are concerned with
the cases.
The advice of the child psychiatrist is frequently sought, by referring
the child to a Child Guidance Unit.
Placement of a child in a residential school on the recommendation of a
school medical officer, psychiatrist or other medical specialist is the
responsibility of the specialist staff at County Hall, who have a wide knowledge
of the special schools available to take these children.
Foot Classes
A number of schools have teachers who have been trained to teach children
with certain foot defects suitable exercises for a short period each day. Unfortunately,
due to several of these teachers taking posts in schools outside
the borough, the number of 'foot classes' has fallen.
I am sure these classes are helpful - especially in the indirect way of
improving a child's posture and I think the scheme could, with benefit, be
extended to cover postural exercises for the whole body
Special Investigation Clinics
Three Special Investigation Clinics continue to be held regularly; the
majority of the children attending have enuresis, but a significant number are
over-weight. Only a very few children are referred because of under-weight,
or failure to make physical progress. A great deal of time and attention is
pàid to the discussion of emotional and management problems. Drugs are sometimes
helpfùl and alarm bell machines are available on loan; they are especially
useful for the older junior, and secondary age-groups. Mothers and children
obtain a great deal of relief from being received with sympathetic interest and
finding that their problem need not be a guilty secret, but is shared by many
others.
Defective Hearing
Close individual attention is given to all children in the Borough who are
suspected to be suffering from hearing loss or who have been diagnosed as
partially hearing, or deaf.
Children who fail the hearing test in school, go to John Scott Health Centre
for further testing on the pure tone audiometer; if they still show a hearing
loss, they are examined by the audiologist who attends weekly. Frequently
the loss is slight and is improved by attention to upper respiratory tract
conditions, advice to parents on management when the child has colds, and in
some cases the child is referred for surgery. A few children are found to
need hearing aids which can be obtained from the London Hospital Hearing Centre.
Nowadays it is unusual to find a child of school age who is deaf enough to
require special schooling.
Special clinics are held about once a month for the assessment of babies
referred from child welfare centres who are not already attending hospitals for
defects of hearing. Many of these babies are severely handicapped, and parents
often have difficulty in coping with their child. Another difficulty is the
frequency with which some families with a handicapped child move house. Great
efforts are therefore made to see that they get all the available services at
this vital stage.
The services of a social worker and a peripatetic teacher of the deaf are
available at all clinics as well as medical staff.
The Borough contains one special unit for partially hearing children which
functions as an integral part of one of the primary schools. The catchment
area extends from Westminster to Tower Hamlets. In addition to the normal
supervision by the school medical officer and school nurse, the children are
examined every six months by the Borough audiologist, accompanied by a social
worker who sees that the home borough is kept informed of the child's progress,
and maintains liaison with the social workers who know the family.