Scottish Farm Colony
MENTAL HEALTH 31 ^ licn july 18th, 1942, Todhill Boys’ Farm Home was Inst t ? ^ the ?oai”d Control for Scotland as an defe r IOn ^?r t^ie reception ?f high grade mentally in f e hoys, who had received some previous training werarrn garden work in a larger institution, and who great considered likely after a trial under conditions of farms ^reed?m to Prove suitable for employment on cent?^^’” ^arm Home is situated in Ayrshire in the l9j3reK?f a farming district. It was originally started in bov y the late Dr Cossar as a training farm for slum PUrn’ ant* at t’me heing taken over for its present frr.??s,e Was occupied by a few boys under Probation ^ the Courts.
I930 e building is a modern one, having been rebuilt in aCc blowing destruction by fire, and has ample ^ab!11?10^’011 ^or ^ hoys. It stands in 43 acres of Thre jfnd anc* with 650 feet of glass for tomato growing. undeC ^rses’ three cows, pigs and hens are kept. It is ASs0r- ,e management of the Scottish Labour Colony Scot,Clation and the Department of Agriculture for and have an over-riding supervision.
in re ? ?,n licensed by the Board of Control, the Home had ?Upe ence an exPerienced staff and a particularly good in ^ r,I?tendent and Matron who had had long experience proha”ng with the neglected slum boy and with boys on boys on- It is interesting to learn that they find the and ^0w under their care react much better to training chartf1Ve a great deal less trouble than their previous Previ ?a- state affairs to be accounted for by their ?ffic?US- institutional training. The local Medical new Cr v^sits regularly and takes a keen interest in the Lenn Venture, while the Medical Superintendent of CaPacity <”ast’e Certified Institution acts in an advisory se^dy farmers in the district are asking for the boys’ batCh es’fancI during harvest time and potato lifting a It is them is sent out to the neighbouring farms. plac ?xPected that very soon some will be ready to be boy ?yt on farms as wage earners. At present, each ?utsicieCe’Ves P?cket money, and any money made for rerpntf work is credited to all. Green battle dress has Alth ^een ?htained.
in n Jl0ugh technically a Certified Institution, Todhill is first iUa’ fact a Farm Colony and Hostel. This is the a’readarm Colony to be started in Scotland and it is pr0c ,y Proving a great success. In order to simplify advispKM?’ consideration is at present being given to the Institf t-1’ changing its status from that of a Certified out n ,0n to an actual Colony and Hostel for boys sent ! n licence from institutions. 1 Type of Children’s Home s
by ‘^teresting enterprise has recently been undertaken f a sn^ii u ddlesex Education Authority who have opened the n . ?me for children committed to their care under I 1933 Vr?i?ns the Children and Young Persons’ Act, f avern st awaiting placement in foster-homes. The 5 through ngth of stay is six weeks although children who p not s ? maInutrition, enuresis or some other cause are f H0rtleUliahle f?r immediate placement, remain in the t receiv . r tWo ?r three months. Children are also h rem0ve 1 fwhen. owing to some emergency, immediate ii stay tif .m a foster-home is necessary. During their t Th fjChildren attend the local council school. and th me is staffed by a Matron and Assistant Matron fi nere are generally one or two carefully selected older
News and Notes
girls between 15 and 17?also “care and protection s cases awaiting disposal?who enjoy helping with the n younger children. To Education Authorities faced y with the difficulty of quickly finding foster-parents, a g Home of this type would seem to fill a much needed 0 gap.
f 1 An Isle of Wight Development
? A useful precedent has been created by the Isle of Wight j County Council who have recently appointed a i Psychiatric Social Worker whose salary is the joint t responsibility of the Visiting Committee of the Mental t Hospital, the Education Committee and the Mental Deficiency Committee. In connection with the Mental i Hospital, her work is chiefly concerned with the provision ! of After-Care, including the finding of suitable employ- ~ ment; in addition she makes any special enquiries needed and obtains information about patients on admission. For the Mental Deficiency Committee she acts as Petitioning Officer, arranges for the placement of cases under Guardianship and in Institutions, and undertakes a limited amount of statutory supervision. For the Child Guidance Clinic she provides case histories and interviews relatives.
There is inevitably a limit to the amount of service which can be given to each of the three Committees and much must be left undone, but as the whole of the work is under the direction of one medical officer who acts as Medical Superintendent of the Mental Hospital, Medical Adviser to the Mental Deficiency Committee, and Hon. Medical Director of the Child Guidance Clinic, the problem of allocating time does not present serious difficulties.
The Island is to be congratulated on initiating an enterprise which provides one more demonstration of the advantages to be gained from a unified Mental Health Service.
Bursaries for Psychological Nursing
Through the generosity of Sir Felix Cassel, a number of bursaries are to be awarded to State Registered Nurses desiring to study modern methods of treating and nursing patients suffering from functional nervous disorders. About six bursaries will be awarded each year for a training lasting four months, three months at the Cassel Hospital and one month’s experience of social work under the Provisional National Council for Mental Health. Through its Social Case-Work Department, the Council will provide facilities for gaining an insight into the environmental conditions of the various types of adult patients dealt with by the Hospital, and will also show the students something of work for defectives and for problem children.
In a letter to The Times (August 17th) Sir Farquhar Buzzard, Chairman of the Committee which has been formed to administer the scheme, pointed out that Sir Felix Cassel recognized, in common with the medical profession, how small a part the study of psychological factors in disorders of health has hitherto played in the training of nurses in this country, and hoped that the holders of his bursaries might subsequently help to interest and educate an increasing number of nurses in this important aspect of their work.
Further particulars of the scheme may be obtained from the Secretary, Cassel Bursaries, Ash Hall, Bucknall,. Stoke-on-Trent.
An Experiment at a Home Office School
An interesting experiment to meet the serious problem of furtive sex talk was recently initiated by Miss M. E Cullen (the Provisional Council’s Regional Representa- tive in Region 2) at a small Home Office School for Senior Girls.
The staff wisely felt that this outbreak of morbid interchange of distorted ideas and sensational experience indicated a need for open discussion on a number of related questions. On Miss Cullen’s suggestion, it was decided to have a series of informal meetings on the ” Brains Trust ” pattern at which the girls’ anonymous questions could be frankly answered and the moral and social implications fully discussed.
The girls’ response has been significant, revealing a tragic amount of anxiety and disturbance in connection with such subjects as the hope of happy marriage in spite of having ” gone wrong “, childbirth, homosexuality, etc. The discussions brought to light much ignorance of sex physiology, and arrangements were therefore made for a talk and film on the subject.
It is reported that the effect of the discussions is already marked; there has been a notable lessening of anxiety and the furtive talk has almost completely ceased. The experiment will be continued in the autumn.
Course for Allied Social Workers
At the request of the British Council, the Provisional National Council is holding a Six Months’ Course for women of allied nations who, on the liberation of their country, intend to return to work in rest camps, hostels, children’s homes, etc., and to take part in the various schemes for rescue and reconstruction.
The first part of the Course (which began on September 20th) is being devoted to the study of Infancy and Early Childhood: the second part will deal with the Child from Seven to Fourteen, and the third part with1 the Adolescent. The Tutor of the Course will be Miss Ruth Thomas (Psychologist of the Provisional National Council), who, with Dr Lois Munro and other experts, will give the lectures. Practical experience designed to give an insight into the working out of the problems under discussion, will be arranged for each student.
The students will visit Children’s Nurseries and Child Welfare Centres and will spend a fortnight actually working in a Day and in a Residential Nursery; during the second part of the Course they will visit Play Centres, Backward Classes, Approved Schools, etc., and will spend a fortnight in residential institutions for children of the age-group they are studying. Work in a Youth Club, with a week in a hostel for young people, will be arranged during the third part of the Course, and finally the students will visit Child Guidance Clinics and attend Case Conferences.
Throughout the Course?which is being held at 39 Queen Anne Street?there will be practical classes in dancing, story-telling, the making of play material, simple handicrafts and other recreational activities. Twenty students (18 Polish and 2 Czech) have been enrolled for the Course.
Youth Leaders’ Conference During the week-end of September 13th to 15th, the Provisional National Council, at the invitation of the City of Leicester Education Authority, held a Conference for Youth Leaders, at the School of Technology and Art, attended by about 30 leaders of the City’s Youth Clubs. At a preliminary meeting the local conditions of the Youth Service were fully discussed with the eight City Youth Organizers and the Director of Education. The Course itself, under the direction of Miss Ruth Thomas, consist of five lecture sessions with discussions, devoted /nainI!g to the developmental problems of young people, function of the leader, and the practical problems 0 organization and activities within the Clubs. CoiisideV able discussion centred around the relation of the CW to the schemes mooted throughout the country for further education of young people and the, as yet unj- touched, problem of the inclusion in such schemes ? training in personal relationships. There is already 1 Leicester, a direct liaison between employers in indus^ and the City’s schemes for evening education.
conference registered a general consensus of opinion a similar liaison on democratic lines was needed, 1 ensure a more realistic approach in Clubs and elsewhe* to educational schemes which must concern themseW with young people’s lives as a whole. It was felt tn such liaison, to be effective, must include committees 0 workers, both young and old, as well as of employers.
Conference on Mental Health
The Provisional National Council is holding a One-D^ Conference on Mental Health at the Caxton Ha1? Westminster, S.W.I, on Friday, October 29th, 1943. { The Conference will be opened by the Rt. Hon. Erne Brown, M.C., M.P., Minister of Health, at 10.30 a-jj^ The morning session will be presided over by Sir Otl. Niemeyer, G.B.E., K.C.B., Chairman of the Provision ^ Council, who will speak on “The Development afl Extension of Voluntary Mental Health Services ? second part of the session will be devoted to a consider tion of the Mental Health Work of Local Authority ‘ with special reference to the development of Joint Schen] for all Mental Health Services as well as for CW Guidance, and to the place of the Residential School the Education of Defective and Sub-Normal Childre ? The speakers will be: Dr Thomas Beaton, O.B-^’ Mr. E. R. Davies, Deputy Clerk, Berkshire Coun* Council, and Mr. John Duncan, Head Master of Lan hills Special School. -jj
At the afternoon session, Sir Farquhar Buzzard ^ take the chair. Two subjects will be dealt with: 0) JL Effect of War Conditions on the Mental Health oi1 r Community, and (2) The Selection and Classification Homes and Hostels in relation to the Needs of .jj Individual Child. At this session the speakers ^ be: Dr Ian Skottowe and Miss Lucy L. G. Fildes, BA” Ph.D. ft
Tickets for the Conference (6s. 6d. to include Rep0.^ 5s. without Report), or 2s. 6d. for one Session only, sho^’-j’ if possible, be obtained from the Provisional Coun ‘ 39 Queen Anne Street, W.l, in advance. Q{ The Report will be published in the next issue ^ Mental Health, which will be a special Conferen Number.
Fellowships in Child Psychiatry
At the meeting of the Medical Sub-Committee of’.jf Child Guidance Council held in August, five Fellowso V in Child Psychiatry were awarded. This brings * number of Fellows in training up to eight, with ^ addition of two who will commence training in the Is Year. . 0f
The appropriation from the Commonwealth Funo America and the Treasury Grant have made this ex1 ^ sion of the training programme possible, and it is ,j?(J fortunate that so many of the candidates who apP1 for training merited fellowship awards. . To widen training facilities, further clinics have ? c approved by the Provisional Council and these 1 ccepting trainees, while still more clinics are to come ei?re the Medical Sub-Committee for approval. anH e bellows now in training are: Dr Louise Devlin na Dr Elizabeth Mackworth at the Child Guidance ?”aming Centre; Dr Helen Gillespie and Dr Kenneth at au at Maudsley Hospital; Dr Elizabeth Huband . Aberdeen. Dr Mellett is also training at Guy’s (full rne at two clinics); Dr Elizabeth Whatley and Dr. ? C. Scott are at the Tavistock Clinic; and Dr Rose- .3PL-Pfitchard at the Hertfordshire County Psychiatric jjJChild Guidance Service.
sh t’ne ^e”ows ‘iave agreed to forgo the fellow- ‘P grant, indeed some are paying a fee which covers ?re,c?st of their training. To these the Council are most ext ? as s on*y *n way ^at any considerable tension of training facilities can be made. ^evelopment of Voluntary Child Guidance Clinics v is interesting to note the establishment of two de i tary phild Guidance Services, both of which have o VeJ?Ped in districts where there was no Child Guidance rvice: The Liverpool Catholic Children’s Protection With^y ‘lave established a clinic service in connection tn the Notre Dame Convent. The Very Reverend as ‘lv Rennet, Administrator of the Society, is acting 2 7lrector of the clinic which is about to open at ^Maryland Street, the premises of the Liverpool and strict Child Guidance Clinic which closed down in tK~y ‘942. The Dorset Child Guidance Service, under a .Presidency of Her Grace Nina Duchess of Hamilton Qfi Brandon and the Honorary Medical Directorship ind-J- Stephen Horsley, is sponsored by voluntary and thafVlK Ua* enterprise in the district, though we understand ect ui ? eY have not yet sufficient funds for the staffing and at>hshment of a clinic.
^ental Health Lectures
o,0A series of Twelve Weekly Lectures on ” The Psych- thf.^ Frustration and Fulfilment ” is being held under ju auspices of the Provisional National Council for 5 fita.1 Health at Caxton Hall, London, S.W.I, at ‘ 3 P.m., on the following dates:
etober 5th, 12th, 20th and 27th. Miss Anna Freud, on ” Instinct Fulfilment and Frustration in Education’’. 0vernber 3rd, 9th, 16th and 23rd. Miss E. N. Rooker (late Principal of Dr Barnardo’s Staff Training School) on ” Practical Applications in Childhood “. 0Ve^ber 30th, December 7th, 14th and 21st, Prof. John Macmurray (Grote Professor of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic, London University), on ” Social Sources of Frustration and Fulfilment leJickets for the Course, ?1 (single tickets, 3s. 6d. per Po?U”m’ as ^ar as accommodation permits, should if Sec ke obtained in advance from the Lecture HJflary’ Provisional National Council for Mental hh, 39 Queen Anne Street, W.l.
National Council for Mental Hygiene a Annual Meeting of the National Council for E Sop- Hygiene will be held at the Hall of the Medical Thii j of London, 11 Chandos Street, London, W.l, on f( dat r?, y’ October 28th, at 3 p.m., followed by tea. The ir rnaf ? keen fixed for the convenience of members who b; arrn Wls^ to attend the Mental Health Conference, fc Heby the Provisional National Council for Mental si Will on t^le Showing day. It is hoped that members p; re .make a special effort to be present at this annual in e ” Handicapped Children ” and Post-War Reconstruction The National Special Schools Union, which has for n forty years sought to ” promote the welfare of children e who are handicapped mentally or physically has in ^ this Report made a valuable contribution to the body ?J of plans for post-war social and educational reform. The subject of the Report deals with ” children who have some physical defect of crippling, heart disease, ” tuberculosis or other physical disability, which makes it ‘ impossible for them to receive proper benefit from education in an ordinary school or to find suitable work; ‘ children who have only partial sight; those who suffer ‘ from epilepsy; and those children with sub-normal ; intelligence who can, nevertheless, be educated by special ! means It includes also children suffering from temporary handicaps, such as anaemia, debility or malnutrition.
As the key to the whole problem, the Union urges the extension of Special School provision?day and residen- tial?for all types of handicapped children, and it does not regard the special class in the ordinary elementary school as in any way an effective substitute. Dealing with the vexed question of terminology, the abandoning of all discriminating labels such as ” mentally defective”, “physically defective”, “epileptic”, ” maladjusted “, is urged, in favour of the generic and innocuous term ” handicapped so that everything possible may be done ” to remove what offends or might be thought to offend “. Certification (another stumbling block) should, it advocates, be abolished and replaced by ” classification ” so that a child instead of being “certified” for admission to a special school shall merely be ” classified ” as a child needing such provision. It would leave the primary responsibility for classification in the hands of the medical practitioner, but considers that acting in conjunction with him there should be a local educational expert, e.g. an Inspector, with a first-hand knowledge of the schools in the area concerned.
Another reform urged is the earlier ascertainment of all handicapped children, and that schools for children who are physically defective should admit them at a younger (unspecified) age than at present, though this would probably necessitate the development of the boarding school system and of special nursery schools. It may be remembered that the Wood Report recom- mended the inclusion of dull children with the feeble- minded in one ” Retarded Group “, to be educated together, but the Union, although noting the need for special provision in Elementary schools for the ” dull “, does not consider that such provision can take the place of Special Schools for children whose dullness is of such a degree that it prevents them from receiving proper benefit in any but a carefully planned environment. One of the most valuable contributions to the Report deals with the needs of the epileptic child?so commonly overlooked. The extension of residential special schools for these children is advocated, together with the intensification of research, the organization of social care and the education of public opinion on the lines of the American Branch of the International League against Epilepsy.
On the subject of the selection and training of teachers for Special School work, the Union’s recommendations include a suggestion that arrangements should be made by a statutory body through selected Training Colleges for a Course of at least three months, and that training should not be confined to the teaching of any one particular group of handicapped children, but should include all types.
The Report finally draws attention to the need for supplementing educational provision for the handicapped child by a scheme for vocational training on leaving school with subsequent placement in suitable employ- ment, thus linking up this particular problem with that presented by other ” disabled ” persons.
With some of the questions raised in this Report, the Special Committee of the Central Association for Mental Welfare, on the Education and Notification of Defective Children (set up in 1936 and reporting in 1939), dealt with in great detail, and a glance at the recommenda- tions then made shows how extremely complicated are the issues involved so far as they entail legislative changes in both the Education Act, 1921 (Part V) and the Mental Deficiency Acts. The present Report covers a wider field and is concerned rather with general principles than with detailed amendments in the law. Its approach to the subject is essentially that of a group of practical idealists seeking to enlist the sympathy of the public in their work for children who are afflicted or distressed in mind or body, and whose claims are liable to recede into the background unless championed by those with an intimate knowledge of the suffering and frustration involved so long as they continue to be ignored. The Report, which is attractively produced, may be obtained from Mr. J. Hudson, Hon. Secretary, N.S.S.U., 31 Hoodcote Gardens, Winchmore Hill, London, N.21, price 6d.
It may be of interest to note that this matter is amongst those which are to be considered by the Provisional National Council, through the Committee which is being set up to deal with questions arising out of the forth- coming Education Bill.
Courses for Staffs of Hostels for Difficult Children The fourth and fifth of the Courses for the staffs of Hostels for Difficult Children arranged this year by the Provisional National Council and formerly by the Mental Health Emergency Committee, whose work it has taken over, were held respectively at Hereford Training College (July 15th to 23rd), and at Springfield St. Mary’s, Oxford (September 1st to 9th).
The Hereford Course was primarily intended for Hostel workers from Civil Defence Regions 7, 8 and 9, and the Oxford Course for those from 3, 6 and 12, but owing to the fact that at Hereford there was accommodation for a much larger number of students, the Ministry of Health’s Welfare Officers kindly arranged for several Students from Region 3 to attend the Course there in order that the total number taken might be as large as possible. Another helpful ruling of the Ministry was that in cases where two members of staff from the same Hostel wished to attend, one should go to Hereford and one to Oxford, irrespective of the particular Region to which they belonged. The total number of students attending the two courses was 59.
Both Courses were directed by Miss Ruth Thomas (Educational Psychologist of the Provisional National Council) and others who gave lectures or classes at each of these were: Dr Grace Calver, Miss Lucy G. Fildes, Mrs. Goldschmeid and Miss Guy (Nursery Advisers, Provisional National Council), and Miss Winifred Houghton (Rhythmics). At each Course, talks were given by a Ministry of Health Regional Welfare Officer and by a Regional Representative of the Provisional Council.
A greater awareness of the underlying implications of their work was observed in the students attending these two Courses. The centre of interest had definitely shifted from concern with day to day Hostel management and with specific behaviour difficulties amongst the children, to the wider consideration of the problem of their future adaptation and to the type of provision that will be needed for those left parentless. That the community should not lose the service of its Hostel Wardens when the need for the particular form in which it has been given during the war years is at an end, lS becoming very clear to the organizers of these Courses, who urge that every effort to retain such service should be made, whatever type of provision is ultimately arranged for war orphans permanently deprived of normal home life.
Devon Committee for Education in Mental Health An interesting development has taken place in Devon- shire as a result of the pioneering activity carried on by Miss Howarth (Regional Representative of the Provisional National Council) supported by the Devon Voluntary Association for Mental Welfare and its Secretary, Miss MacMichael. ..
On May 29th, a Meeting was held at the invitation ol the Mental Welfare Association, at the Deanery, Exeter, by kind permission of the Dean, who took the chair- After discussion, following on an address by Miss Ruth Thomas (Educational Psychologist of the Provisional National Council), it was agreed to form a Committee for the purpose of furthering educational and preventive / work in mental health in the County. A small Com- mittee was thereupon elected, and at a subsequent meeting the objects were defined as follows: (1) To further educational work in Mental Health. (2) To promote the study of personality in relation to healthy social living among all ages and groups ot the community.
(3) To ascertain the needs and opportunities in the county for this kind of work.
(4) To meet from time to time to discuss the principle involved in this statement of aims, and to invite visitors to attend when desired.
Dr Richard Eager was elected Chairman, Mr. W. E- Philip (County Director of Education) Vice-Chairman? Miss H. Sheehan Dare, Hon. Secretary, and Miss F. M- Dickinson, Hon. Treasurer. A panel of lecturers is to be formed and it is hoped that lectures may be arranged- The Committee has applied for its recognition by the Provisional National Council, and this has been readily granted.
Rescuing the Spastic Child
There has recently been formed by parents of children suffering from disabilities due to Little’s Disease, Spastic Paralysis and Cerebral Palsy, a Club whose object is to arouse national interest in the provision of centres for the treatment, education and vocational training ol this group of handicapped children.
Too often in the past, they have been regarded as inevitably mentally defective and untrainable, but largely through the efforts of Dr Earl Carlson, an American specialist in cerebral paralysis, who vvas himself ” spastic” in childhood and who, through dauntless courage and determination, learned to over- come all the disabilities considered to be permanently incapacitating?it is now beginning to be recognized that by means of a prolonged period of skilled training, even the most severe of the physical handicaps associated with this condition can be overcome. The success of such training demands intelligent co-operation on the part ot the child. Where there is true mental defect complete success is not possible, but it has been estimated by thp^er’v^n exPerts> who have made an intensive study of e subject, that in only 30 per cent, of spastic cases is Tntal defect a factor.
n.a recent circular issued by the Parents’ Club, atten- incV|1S ca”e<^ to the need for reliable statistics as to the as Icience of Spastic Paralysis and associated conditions, f0 a Preliminary to the establishment of a pioneer centre Vvi SPecialized treatment on the lines of those in America act” ? ^ave achieved such striking results. In this f?ity, the Club has the support of the Central Council in he Care of Cripples who have sponsored it since its ‘caption.
to tJ^u*r’es? which are welcomed, should be addressed ” r e Hon. Secretary of the Club, Mrs. W. A. Colgan, ossamer Outwood Lane, Chipstead, Surrey.
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