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The Long‐Term Assessment and Experimental Education of Retarded Cerebral Palsied Children
Author(s) -
Gardner L.,
Johnson J.
Publication year - 1964
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1964.tb10784.x
Subject(s) - cerebral palsied , cerebral palsy , psychology , developmental psychology , test (biology) , term (time) , audiology , medicine , psychiatry , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
SUMMARY The case for long‐term residential assessment of retarded cerebral palsied children is presented. This should be closely linked with skilled educational help, aimed at overcoming the difficulties in communication that these children have and the effects of cultural deprivation. A small sample of 41 children, accepted for long‐term experimental education and assessment at Hawksworth Hall, has been studied. All these children were considered to be of ‘doubtful educability’ on short assessments; 40 per cent of them proved educable after an average 10 months' course at Hawksworth, and there were slight but encouraging improvements in their mental test scores, educational attainments, social and emotional development, and possibly in their attention and drive. Some of these children would probably have been classified as ineducable had they not had a period of experimental education and long‐term assessment. Some comparisons are made between the children found to be educable and those found to be ineducable. The severity of handicap, type of cerebral palsy, the presence or absence of speech and of hearing loss did not differentiate the two groups. The mental test results, educational attainments and social and emotional factors did differentiate them, and so did the presence of visual defects and the number of first‐born children, these being more common among the ineducable. RÉSUMÉ L'expertise et l'éducation expérimentale à long terme des enfants retardés paralysés cérébraux Les auteurs exposent les indications pour une expertise de longue durée en hospital d'enfants retardés paralysés cérébraux. Il faut y associer l'assistance d'une éducation experte tendant à surmonter les difficultés de communication qu'ont ces enfants et les effets du manque de culture.