the principal sensory defects are visual or auditory . mental handicap comprises those who are mentally retarded. it also includes autism although such children may not be mentally retarded.
children with an emotional handicap may be physically and mentally normal but very often children with either of these handicaps develop secondary emotional problems . the prevention of emotional problems is one of the major aims of therapy for children who are physically or mentally handicapped.
however, any chronic disorder may result in a handicap, for example, the child with epilepsy may be handicapped, though modern treatment should prevent this.
the early diagnosis and correct management of the handicapped child require the closest co-operation between the general practitioner, the paediatrician and the doctor working in public health service to ensure the child receive the best possible care. such doctors must be experienced in the problems of the handicapped child, being on the alert for associated defects.
although many of the handicaps affect organs or systems, the possibility of multiple handicaps must be considered otherwise, for example, a child might be receiving treatment for his cataracts but his associated deafness remain undetected. probably about 30 percent of handicapped children have more than one handicap.
early diagnosis may, in some disorder prevent the development of a primary handicap as in the prevention of blindness by the treatment of a squint or the prevention of mental retardation by the early dietary treatment of phenylketonaria (fig.2) or galactosemia (fig. 3