It was written in 1978, I recall reading it in the early 80's and have not
seen it since,
Here is a brief review from the British Medical Journal 1978
"1132 BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL 29 APRIL 1978
In brief
Too severely handicapped to go to school in a separate building, The
Children of Skylark Ward (Cambridge University Press, £3.95) were taught by
Ann Hales (the author) and her team in their own ward of a 300-bed hospital
for people with IQs in the 0-50 range. Her imagination in naming the ward
"Skylark" spills over into the efforts she made with each child to stimulate
and delight him (and herself). Only one of her group of 17 could speak a few
recognisable words, and most were doubly incontinent and at least partly
paralysed, but, with encouragement and affection from the teaching staff,
they all responded by smiling and laughing. Mrs Hales understands and
sympathises with the mothers—who so often suffer anguish, remorse, and
guilt, because they have reluctantly had to hand over care of their child to
others—and the frustrated and exhausted staff who then cope with them. She
remarks, too, on the difficulty she had in adapting herself to the amount of
physical contact necessary to establish communication with the children. If
wards were more homely, she suggests, both children and staff would lead
more productive and satisfying lives out of school hours—which is when toys
are locked up and boredom sets in. There is no doubt, however, that a child
who is taught in this particular ward will spend at least part of his time
extending his limited horizons."
Roughly contemporary is the TV documentary "Silent Minority" of 1981
http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=11524 not sure if the
link works but it should link to the documentary in youtube segments. A
depressing indictment of long term "care" for intellectually impaired people
Larry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List [mailto:DISABILITY-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rebecca Jay Dutneall
> Sent: 07 April 2012 15:56
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: "The Children of Skylark Ward"
>
> Hi.
>
> I wanted to send this last night, but "the computer said NO"!!
>
> I just wondered if anyone had read The Children of Skylark Ward? as
> I've surprisingly found a copy, albeit, in storage, at my University's
> library (Leeds), and plan to read it next week (this week coming).
>
> Margo (or anyone) do you happen to know if the name had anything to do
> with our beloved former respite centre? (HMP Skylarks - because a
> certain nurse made it feel as such! - It's not a mini version on
> Rampton!)
>
> Any advice would be greatly welcomed.
>
> Becky.
>
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