[Learning disorders in school children. An integrative approach, importance of the biological component and...

This paper concerns the development of a diagnostic procedure for learning disorders, in line with a multifactorial approach in which the contributions of the organic and psychogenetic points of view are integrated to form a common interpretative model. The aim is to identify strategies for intervening at different levels. We examined 10 patients with learning disorders which came consecutively to our Division of Child Neuropsychiatry and an equal number of control subjects which were as old as the patients and begin school at the correct age. We used an integrative approach: we interviewed parents to know history, the relational, familial and sociocultural features and moreover, organic problems, if any, neurological examination and, if necessary, skull x-ray, EEG, skull CT; psychodynamic interview, drawing of human figure and family drawing; WISC; Bender test, Stambak test, Rorschach test, Blacky Pictures test. All the variables that could be quantified from the diagnostic protocols were compared statistically. Assessment of our case histories gives weight to the hypothesis of a multifactorial pathogenesis. We did find psychodynamic problems in all cases, and were able to identify aspects of generalised, and in particular, epistemophilic inhibition.