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In an earlier number of this Bulletin1, I described an infant of 6 months whose poor physical development in the early weeks of life caused us considerable concern during regular consultations in the Well-Baby Clinic. I drew attention to the mother's evident difficulty in establishing a rapport with the baby, and suggested this had to be understood in relation to her feelings over her older, profoundly deaf child. It seems that the birth of the second child had reactivated the mother's sadness and guilt over the first child's handicap, causing her to be unable to respond appropriately to the needs of the second child.
Jenny is now 3 years 6 months. She has continued to attend the Well-Baby Clinic; she joined our once-weekly Toddler Group at the age of 14 months, and began a gradual introduction to our Nursery School at the age of 2 years 5 months, attending daily from the age of 2 years 8 months. Mother and child are therefore well known to a number of staff members and Jenny's development has been discussed at various meetings. It seems useful at this point to describe her progress and consider the factors that have contributed significantly to her development in the three years since my earlier report.
By the time she was 7 months old, Jenny had caught up in her overall development in a satisfactory manner. Her weight-gain was adequate, she was sitting without support, she could hold and drink from a beaker unaided. She made eye-contact with us and smiled cautiously. Gradual weaning from the breast was completed around this time, to the mother's evident relief.
In the second half of her first year, Jenny contracted numerous colds and ear infections, and was frequently prescribed antibiotics by the family doctor. However, these intercurrent illnesses did not