F- CLINICAL ASPECTS OF SPINAL CORD INJURIES
601
unable to use the pedals, one of the patients designed an ingenious device which enabled
the paraplegic to operate the pedals with his elbow.
Also, at one stage, a dramatic society, formed among the patients, produced and acted
a dramatic play, 'Libel', with great success. One of the main characters in this play was
played by a tetraplegic with a complete transverse lesion below C6. The producer was a
girl suffering from poliomyelitis with complete paralysis below the chest.
Art classes are still being held at Stoke Mandeville, which have proved invaluable to
mobilize dormant talents in painting and other crafts. Any art medium promotes a great
feeling of accomplishment, and amongst the various types of art, painting is very important
as it provides also a good exercise for finger movements, wrist and arm. This is of parti
cular importance for tetraplegics, who have either complete or partial paralysis of their
fingers and learn trick movements to hold the brush in the hand. Some of those who have
complete paralysis in the fingers have learned to paint with the brush held between the
teeth (mouth painting). Certain cases of polio who are completely paralysed in the upper
limbs have learned to paint with their toes (foot painting) as shown in Fig. 258. Painting
is indeed a very rewarding occupation for high spinal cord lesions, as it increases the
patient's awareness to his surrounding world and the beauty of nature. (See also Chapter
of Industrial and Professional Resettlement.)
SCHOOL EDUCATION
Throughout the years, our paraplegic children were given regular school education by a
teacher, appointed by the Ministry of Education (Fig. 259). Children have daily lessons
in school and are, of course, divided into classes according to age. Education is already
started with children below the official school age and has taken the form of playgroups.
In recent years, a play group movement has been started as a 'do it yourself' nursery
school, were children with their mothers gain benefit. There is no doubt, that these
playgroups are of benefit to cerebral palsy children and spinal paralysed children such as
spina bifida, below school age, and mothers should be encouraged to enrol their children
in these playgroups. At the Stoke Mandeville Sports Stadium for the Paralysed and
other Disabled, such a playgroup has been set up, and sessions are held three times
weekly. This project has proved most successful and of great benefit also to the mothers.
The writer has always been most anxious, that paraplegic children of school age should
continue their education, wherever possible, in ordinary classes of ordinary schools, in
order that they may integrate with able-bodied children and may have the same chance to
attain the highest scholastic achievements. There is still great need to adjust ordinary
schools to disabled children in wheelchairs, by arranging easy access, by having class
rooms on the ground floor where they can receive their education together with able-
bodied children or by having lifts built in multi-storey schools. Another very important
point is to enlarge one or two toilets for the use of children in wheelchairs and also adjust
the desk to the height of the wheelchair.
The same facilities should also be given in universities to students in wheelchairs.
They should have easy access to lecture rooms, laboratories, libraries, etc., and also
proper facilities for using toilets, if necessary by widening doorways and increasing
