Bronchial Asthma in Children: A Case Study of Eight Asthmatic Children Who Were Seen at the St. Charles Child Guidance Clinic in Brooklyn Between 1940 and 1950, With a Discussion of the Effect of Parental Attitudes
Abstract
Background of the Study. The researcher's interest in asthma was aroused when he was placed at the St. Charles Child Guidance Clinic during his second year field work training period from October of 1953 to May of 1954. Director of the St. Charles Child Guidance Clinic in Brooklyn, New York, made the suggestion that a study should be made of asthmatic children and their mothers. This topic was sharpened in focus and expanded in scope in supervisory conferences. The Clinic was helpful in supplying the case material but also in the more important intangible aids, such as interpretation of obscure material and encouragement for the researcher. Some description of the Clinic would be helpful in sketching in the background of this study since the actual work was done on its premises and the researcher used its case material. The Clinic is one of the four units of St. Charles Hospital in Brooklyn. The other units are the St. Charles Hospital, the St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, Long Island and the Wharton Memorial Institute at Port Jefferson. The latter is a school for mental retardates and all admissions to it must be cleared through the Clinic. The Clinic was established in 1930 as a center to offer consultation, diagnostic and therapeutic service to children from five to seventeen years. The Clinic accepts referrals on the basis of educational problems, emotional disturbances or conduct disorders. The Clinic is non-sectarian and the referrals are accepted from any source in Brooklyn. The family must make personal application for the initial appointment to indicate willingness for service. Fees are charged in accordance with a graduated scale comparable to income and to the size of the family. Therapy is given to children of normal intelligence and in 1953 approximately 6? children were carried in therapy. Referrals in 1953 amounted to 301 children and of these 178 became cases which the Clinic took on for service. Many of these of course require only short term service in which a diagnostic study was completed and recommendations were made for placement, educational adjustment, medical treatment and other specialized services not directly offered by the Clinic. The other 123 either were unsuitable for treatment or failed to keep the initial appointment.
Subject Area
Social research|Mental health|Health care management|Social work
Recommended Citation
Ryan, John James, "Bronchial Asthma in Children: A Case Study of Eight Asthmatic Children Who Were Seen at the St. Charles Child Guidance Clinic in Brooklyn Between 1940 and 1950, With a Discussion of the Effect of Parental Attitudes" (1954). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30670864.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30670864
