| Abstract: | Because the cerebral-palsied child is also a growing person whose development should be encouraged along as normal a course as possible, the pediatrician may well take the lead in coordinating orthopedic, psychiatric, educational and vocational services for such children. In El Centro this policy has been followed in a school for handicapped children serving 30 with cerebral palsy, 15 of them pupils at the school. Those with sufficient intelligence and milder physical handicap attend a regular public school, while others are unable to attend even the special school.Emphasis has been placed on working with children who are less seriously affected. As to children with severe neuromuscular and intellectual handicap, the chief effort is to prevent contractures and maintain function. The pediatrician confers monthly with all workers concerned with the child, and maintains liaison with the family physician who treats acute illnesses, including palsy seizures. Special effort has been made to investigate family circumstances such as foreign background which make it more difficult to evaluate the palsied child''s true capabilities. |
