ent001318-029

CHILDREN WITH INTRACTABLE ASTHMA?╟÷STEEN Recreational activities.?╟÷Recreational activities are important at the School. The yearly mild climate makes it possible for the children to play outside most of the time and provides for a varied and extensive recreational program. Very few of the children are able to engage in group recreation at home, but at the School most of them are able to participate in swimming, dancing, baseball, basketball, running and other group games. Swimming is one of the most popular forms of recreation. Singing and breathing exercises help to promote diaphragm function. Activities such as trips to the mountains, picnics and visits to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum are all included. Social activities are fostered to provide group activities such as The Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, stamp clubs, entertainment committees, and other club or group activities. Admission Procedure Our first contact with the asthmatic child is usually through the family doctor who in most cases sends in the medical report. Regional allergy consultants throughout the United States co-operate in screening children for the School. No child is accepted until he has been certified by a regional consultant. A number of children who have been examined have been found not to have had the advantages of thorough, consistent and continuous treatment in their own locality, and have been refused admission. The application must be from a family of low income and must include a social service report from a private or public social welfare agency. These agencies have co-operated in helping the families while the child is in the School and have been invaluable in helping the child readjust himself to his, home upon return from the School. In some instances the child has developed insight into the problem and has been able to help in the rehabilitation of the family (parentectomy in reverse). Children from six to twelve years of age are admitted. Lack of facilities prevents the addition of other age groups. Physical Plant At this time I would like to include some information about the physical plant of the School. It has a beautiful location approximately six miles east of town on a ten-acre tract of land in the desert surrounded by mountains; to the north the Catalinas tower some 11,000 feet and other ranges on the east, south and west, form an inter-mountain plain. There are thirteen buildings, including five dormitories or cottages for the children which provide accommodations for about sixty-five children. Ten to twelve children, depending on the age group, are assigned to each dormitory with either a house mother or a house father. Part of the administration building provides dormitory space for some of the older girls. The dining hall with an attached modern kitchen provides meals at one sitting for all children. The hospital provides ten beds and there is an adjoining completely furnished clinic. There is an Arts and Crafts Volume 17, November-December, 1959 869 CHILDREN WITH INTRACTABLE ASTHMA?╟÷STEEN Building. Recreational grounds occupy more than half of the area with recreational fields for football, baseball, volleyball, and shufifleboard, A large swimming pool provides additional recreation throughout the year. Separate buildings provide facilities for a modern, up-to-date school from the first through the eighth grades. Lack of plant facilities precludes the provision of other grades for a wider age group. Arrangements are made for the children to attend the church of their choice. RESULTS Our children are all asthmatics of the perennial type with many factors involved in their chronic conditions. They are by admission policy intractable cases of asthma. Our studies do not indicate any more emotional problems for this group than for a normal group of children. Psychological tests which have been performed on our children would indicate that a majority were above the normal range. Figures were obtained to show: 1. General results 2. Percentage of absenteeism from school 3. Number participating in group recreation at the School as compared with home. General Results.?╟÷The years of operation and the number of children who have been at the School are few in number; yet it is of interest to review the results which have been achieved. TABLE I. RESULTS WITH 141 CHILDREN Improvement Excellent 44.6 per cent Moderate 19.1 per cent Fair 29.6 per cent No improvement 6.3 per cent Deaths 1 child The percentage of absenteeism for the School during the four years considered is better, except for the year 1957-58, than that for the public school system of normal children. TABLE II. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE Schools Students Days Present Days Absent Percentage Absenteeism 1954-55 Sahuaro School Pub. School Dist. No. 1 1955-56 Sahuaro School Pub. School Dist. No. 1 1956-57 Sahuaro School Pub. School Dist. No. 1 1957-58 Sahuaro School Pub. School Dist. No. 1 Sept. 1958 Sahuaro School 38 21,453 42 23,893 55 25,835 72 j 27,501 53 5,019.5 3,037,997.5 6,102 3,465,304.5 7,360 3,755,419.5 8,580 4,009,946 1,106 301.5 199,092 222 237,876 289 236,460.5 1 774 311,287 7 5.666% 6.038% 3.510% 6.423% 3.778% 5.923% 8.274% 7.203% 0.628% 870 Annals of Allergy