3. How does he prefer to use his motor system? For example, an examination showed a chi ld to have better gross motor coordination as compared to fine motor performance. I f the mother or teacher then wanted him to suc- cessfully learn the concept of the letter “A,” perhaps the chi ld would feel more successful if he used his gross motor ski l ls at the chalk b o a r d i n s t e a d of d e m o n s t r a t i n g h i s incompetency by drawing that “A” between two lines three eighths of an inch apart.

4. How does he function amidst distractions? Does he do better in the absence of auditory- visual distractions? Perhaps seat placement is important. Most important, however, the chi ld should not be evaluated or judged in the presence of these distractions.

5. How well acquainted is he with commonly used concepts (Boehm concepts)? Falsely assuming that he has a good sense of time, place, quantity, and position may result in adults having expectations which assure his failure. I n addition to the above data, the physician is

in a unique position to observe parent-child interact ion. He c a n note those pos i t i ve characteristics of the mother’s successfu I teaching style that can be shared with the child’s first teacher. For instance, when the mother and chi ld are involved in a task, does the mother allow the chi ld to be successful by breaking tasks down, by repetition of task requests or by positive reinforcement of desired behavior? Much of the mother’s knowledge of her child’s

learning style is not utilized by the school simply because i t is not communicated to the kindergarten teacher.

A by-product of this parent-child interaction is the opportunity to listen to the language interchange. Does mother encourage the chi ld to use entire sentences or does she ask questions that require only a “yes” or “no” from the child?

If primary care physicians are unable to implement such strategies in their offices, i t is suggested that they collaborate with teachers and parents in a problem solving way early in the kindergarten year. Implementation of these ideas i s dependent upon the degree to which physicians and schools share information they have about children in any particular school d is t r i c t . Co l labora t ion requires, however, extensive dialogue to overcome the redundancy that is inherent in two parallel professions interested i n optimizing the interaction between a chi ld and his environment from differing perspectives.

This paper suggests a positive approach of early intervention and treatment of children at risk for failure by using a collaborative team of parents, educators and health professionals. The physician’s role is seen in terms of how he can contribute to defining the conditions necessary for success while carrying out his traditional medical role. The physician can become an effective ally of parents, teachers, and children, a l l of whom must succeed i f the doctor is to succeed.

CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSES FOR HEALTH PERSONNEL

NEW YORK CITY, February 1974-The National Health Council, through its Committee on Continuing Education announces ten short courses in 1974 selected for personnel of official, professional, and voluntary health agencies and organizations.

The course subjects will include: Consultation Skills, Executive Development, Leadership Development, Management by Objectives, Management Skills, and Interpersonal Competence.

The ten courses will be conducted by five universities and one state committee of executives on various dates ranging from May through September 1974. Cooperating universities are: Columbia University (School of Public Health), University of Florida (College of Health Related Professions), Indiana University (Graduate School of Business), University of Michigan (School of Public Health), and Washington University (Office of Conferences and Short Courses).

Descriptive brochures and other information on these courses may be obtained by writing to: Continuing Education Program, National Health Council, 1740 Broadway, New York, New York 10019.

THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH 309