concept

285 pages, 94 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 26 cm

Congenital deformities of the upper extremities / by Arne Birch-Jensen.

A charming film made with funding from the Lady Hoare Trust for Disabled Children, subtitled 'a film profile about the children today,' which looks at how children affected by thalidomide can best be incorporated into society and encouraged to lead as normal a life as possible. Includes footage of Lady Hoare herself addressing a small group of people, intercut with shots from Chailey Heritage Craft School and Hospital, and a film narrated by George Chatterton documenting a small group of different thalidomide children as they engage in activities like ballet, pony riding, eating, dressing and fitting into school life. The film is full of many interesting and moving sequences but particularly notable is the school PE lesson in which Tony Ashton, a four-limb deficient thalidomider, joins in whilst singing 'I've Got No Strings' and the closing sequence in which a group of thalidomide children drive electric cars made by Drivabout Ltd., prior to the advent of electric wheelchairs which would become, for many, a lifeline.

1 DVD (25 min.) : sound, black & white and colour, PAL

Only the beginning.

Recorded in the Leon Gillis Unit at Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, this tape is one of a series of six video compilations and consists of sequences of amateur footage of children with varying kinds of physical disability affecting their limbs. Mostly the children have shortened arms or legs or both arms and legs and many of the children featured were affected by the drug thalidomide. Most likely intended for occupational therapy purposes, the recordings show how the various children can best move around and manipulate everyday tools, both naturally and with prosthetic limbs. The quality of the tape is in places quite poor with the image faded and tape signals frequently interrupted; some parts of the tape have sound, others are silent. Despite the low recording quality, these tapes present a rare and unstaged insight into occupational therapy for young children with limb deficiencies.

1 videocassette (48 min.) (1 inch) : silent, black and white 1 videocassette (48 min.) (DIGIBETA) : silent, black and white 1 DVD (48 min.) : silent, black and white

Miscellaneous footage of disabled children. Tape 2.

Contributions to surgery and medicine : Part 7

Medical Heritage Library

Fractures, dislocations, deformities and diseases of the lower extremities / by Hugh Owen Thomas.

This short film is a trim from a longer film featuring a series of studies of patients with intertitles relating to the provision of prosthetic limbs for children born without arms and legs. This is a trim showing the first child (a mixed race boy of about 2 or 3) with foreshortened legs and blind in one eye with gas-powered arms and legs. He is seen holding a football. This is followed by different footage of an older child in a residential street.

1 film reel (2 min.) : silent, color, 16mm.

Prosthetic limbs. Trim.

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Limb Deformities, Congenital

Catalogue

Congenital deformities of the upper extremities / by Arne Birch-Jensen.

Only the beginning.

Miscellaneous footage of disabled children. Tape 2.

Fractures, dislocations, deformities and diseases of the lower extremities / by Hugh Owen Thomas.

Prosthetic limbs. Trim.

Wellcome uses cookies.

Limb Deformities, Congenital

Catalogue

Congenital deformities of the upper extremities / by Arne Birch-Jensen.

Only the beginning.

Miscellaneous footage of disabled children. Tape 2.

Fractures, dislocations, deformities and diseases of the lower extremities / by Hugh Owen Thomas.

Prosthetic limbs. Trim.

Wellcome Collection

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