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Early Sensory Ski by Jackie Cooke. Winslow Press, Bicester, 1996 (ISBN 0 86388 145 9). Illus. 167 pages. f33.45. The author of this book is a speech therapist specialising in communi- cation problems of children and adults with severe learning diffcul- ties. She has a particular interest in teaching social and sensory skills.

This publication is an extremely practical guide intended for anyone working with young people and chil- dren in a variety of settings.

The manual is divided into logical sections relating to sensory develop- ment, each giving clear aims. Ideas are given for activities to stimulate and develop the senses of vision - looking at people, self and objects; promoting tactile awareness and exploration; and developing an awareness of both taste and smell.

Permission is given by the author to photocopy the activity sheets although the colour of the headings in the text, pale blue, does not repro- duce well in monochrome, and although the manual is ring bound there is a thick outer spine which is obstructive in the photocopying process! When read one after the other, the activity sheets can appear

I Is repetitive in some aspects but each stands alone when reproduced.

Check lists are given at the end of each section to allow evaluation and reflection of progress, and there is a neat system of documenting this.

The manual could be used with children with a wide variety of abil- ities and disabilities and provides an ideal ‘good parenting skills’ guide. However, children with more severe physical disabilities may

need additional advice on handling and positioning, specific to their individual needs.

Everyday activities to promote sensory development are suggested a t the end of the book, along with games and topics for older, more able children, and these are linked to the educational curriculum.

In summary the book, although not referenced, is a useful addition to any library - professional o r personal. New parents, therapists, or teacl resourct Iu.=au a i r u a b u v I u G n .

A game to develop sensory skills: Sing a song and pass the hat, or sunglasses, or scarf, or wig. . .

Julia Graham BSc MCSP

iers will find it a valuable 1 fnv ;,Inno ont;.r;t;no

n

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The Nightingale Training School by Roy Wake. Haggerston Press, London, 1998 (ISBN 1 869812 17 4). Illus. 265 pages. f24.99. (Orders to the Nightingale Fellowship, Gassiot House, 2 Lambeth Palace Road, London SEl 7EW.)

Out of nursing a t St Thomas’ Hospital, London, came the ‘grand- mother of physiotherapy’ Minnie Randell MBE - and the first hospital physiotherapy department. So a history of the school of nursing, prior to amalgamation with other schools and metamorphosis into the Nightingale Institute of London University, has some interest for physiotherapists. Quoted exten- sively in it is another physiother- apist, still very much alive, who moved in the other direction into nursing - Peggy Nuttall OBE.

Miss Minnie Randell was Sister Ophthalmic when she started the Massage Department at St Thomas’ in 1911. Roy Wake records that

during the Great War as well as probationer nurses being taught about poison gas as a wartime part of the curriculum, the work of the Massage Department was brought into their training and students were able to take the examinations of the Incorporated Society of Trained Masseuses (which became the CSP). ‘Others were given new training in dealing with fractured limbs under the supervision of the Physico-therapeutic Department.’

A pioneer in electrical treatment, Gertrude Carlisle, gets mentioned when the history moves to World War 11. A flying bomb heavily damaged St Thomas’ on a quiet Saturday afternoon - July 4, 1994. Four physiotherapists were killed. ‘This unhappy event meant that once more Miss Randell had to take her Massage School to Manchester,

and Miss Carlisle the Electrical Students to Woking.’

The pioneer Nightingale training school provided the model on which schools of nursing were founded all over the world. Its 136 years were not without controversies. Lambeth councillors denounced it as ‘6litist’ and the author of its history, a former HMI chief inspector of secondary schools, describes the final stage as a ‘trudge’ through a period of massive change. Should the diploma in nursing be a stage to a degree in nursing? What is the place of the National Vocational Qualification? Educationists and of course Nightingales will find its detail fascinating, and although physiotherapy does not appear in the index, the book does contribute footnotes to physiotherapy history.

Laurence Dopson

Physiotherapy, August 1998, vol84, no 8