[Health behavior of developmentally disordered students--or the need for cooperation between teachers and physicians]

Presented are the findings of an examination of 28 students from the secondary school sector, level I, grades 7-9, undertaken at the special school for children with developmental disorders (= behavioural disorders) at the Fritz-Gansberg-Street in Bremen. Results show that the students, who generally speaking not only are known to display socially deviant behaviour but often also suffer from minimal brain dysfunction (MCD) and, occasionally, organic cerebral damage, increasingly "neglect themselves" in a medical sense, in particular relative to uncontrolled consumption of drugs and neglect of their overall physical development. Pertinent special educational problems should therefore not be dealt with within the school alone, but should equally be addressed from a social or even preventive medicine angle. Close cooperation between teachers at special schools and medical doctors should therefore be sought, and possibly introduction of outpatient services at the school or initiation of doctor/school sponsorships.