Psychological disorders in crippled children. A comparative study of children with and without brain damage

A detailed standardised study was made of all crippled children aged between five and 15 years and of normal intelligence on the local-authority lists of handicapped children in three London boroughs. Psychiatric disorder was twice as common in children whose crippling was due to cerebral disease or damage rather than some peripheral lesion. As the groups were well matched in terms of physical incapacity and social background, it was concluded that brain damage was responsible for the children's increased vulnerability to emotional problems. Brain damage was also associated with a marked increase in reading difficulties and a lowering of intelligence within the normal range. Psychiatric disorder was found to be related not only to cerebral injury but also to various types of family disturbance. It is concluded that emotional and behavioural disturbance stemmed from both an increased biological vulnerability and psychosocial hazards.