Some characteristics differentiating two groups of E.S.N. children.
This paper presents the results of the second stage of an enquiry concerned with children attending eight special schools for the educationally subnormal in South Wales. Two groups of children were defined, according to their response to the special education which had been provided for them. One group, the S group, had been transferred back to the ordinary school system, while the other, the E group, had been transferred to training centres or subnormality hospitals. The information available at the time these children had been recommended for special education was coded and compared. Hypotheses derived from the comparisons were tested on data obtained from interviews conducted in the homes of the children. The results suggest that the group which responds well to education in special schools is composed of a relatively high proportion of children who come from damaged environments, while the groups which fail to respond to education in special schools is composed of a relatively high proportion of organically damaged children.