Some observations on the management of the child with a spina bifida.

During the preschool years assessment is an on-going process, ideally in a nursery school with specially trained staff. In doubtful cases the child may start in a special school and be promoted to an ordinary school. The responsibility for placing a child in an ordinary school is a serious one because failure can be a searing experience for the child. A child who has to be transferred from a normal to a special school should be moved, if possible, at a time when a transfer would normally be expected-for example, from infant to junior or junior to secondary school.