Spastics, everybody's children
digital file Colour Sound 1975 36:01
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Summary: Shows the work of the Spastics Society and how one aim is to prevent children with cerebral palsy becoming institutionalised in hospitals. It shows the progress of disabled children at one of its residential schools (Meldreth Manor School, Hertfordshire), where they encourage a home environment and where they attend a local primary school one day a week and mix with the children there. 5 segments.
Title number: 18092
LSA ID: LSA/21249
Description: Segment 1 Children with cerebral palsy are shown playing and attending school. The narrator says that people who have both mental and physical disabilities have been neglected by society, and that there are not enough facilities for them. Often, they are left to 'vegetate in sub-normality hospitals'. Meldreth Manor School, a residential school for children with both mental and physical disabilities, is shown. The children are shown waking up in the morning, and beginning their lessons. A communication class is shown, with students learning how to read and use sign language. Time start: 00:00:00:00 Time end: 00:07:35:03 Length: 00:07:35:03 Segment 2 Further lessons at the school are shown. The children go to the local college one morning a week and work with the students there in their art class. A staff meeting is shown, with the teachers discussing the pupils. Time start: 00:07:35:03 Time end: 00:14:53:16 Length: 00:07:18:13 Segment 3 A physiotherapy session on a trampoline is shown. A cooking class is shown. A teacher is shown admonishing a girl, and explaining to her what she had done wrong. An older student is assessed. The narrator says that some pupils at the school will never be able to live without constant care. Time start: 00:14:53:16 Time end: 00:21:37:08 Length: 00:06:43:17 Segment 4 A 14-year-old girl is shown having speech therapy. A workshop is shown, with students doing woodwork. The narrator says that the students will leave the school at 16, and the local authority must find somewhere for them to go. There are not enough facilities, so some may go to hostels and others to long-stay hospitals. Specialists discuss a girl who will go to a hospital, saying that she does not have the strength to look after herself, and that there is no other provision that can be made for her. A music lesson is shown. Time start: 00:21:37:08 Time end: 00:29:25:07 Length: 00:07:47:24
Credits: Narrated by Donald Houston, edited by Kevin Lester, filmed by Glyn Saunders, written and directed by Ron Tanner and produced by Ron Tanner and Glyn Saunders.
Further information: This film was donated to Wellcome Trust by Scope.
Keywords: Cerebral Palsy; Disabled Children
Locations: United Kingdom; England; Hertfordshire; Meldreth Manor School
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