CHILD’S PROBLEM OR MOTHER’S?

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31378, 25 May 1967, Page 2

CHILD’S PROBLEM OR MOTHER’S?

Emotionally disturbed children in play centres might present difficulties but supervisors could best surmount these by talking to the child’s mother, the acting head of the department of psychological medicine at the University of Otago (Dr. P. Lewis), a child psychiatrist, told a course for play centre supervisors in Christchurch this week.

In his address, “Helping the disturbed child and supporting his parents,” Dr. Lewis told the supervisors that their dealings with very young children gave them an important role to play in recognising deviations in personality and development He outlined two confidential case histories to show that in the case of the disturbed or retarded child, the attitude of “mother” was all important “Often it boils down to the fact that the child’s problem is the mother's problem.”

One of the mothers in his case histories had been a delight to work with, said Dr. Lewis. The other mother might have “come to strife” with almost any child. “Here we had the synodrome of the inconsistent mother. Her little girl’s problem involved the whole family." The second case history dealt with a child who had suffered minimal brain damage at birth. “In such cases where you are not sure whether the child is backward or not, his developmental history (when he first walked, talked, etc.) is most Important. His intellectual achievement is usually some-

what behind children of his own age, and he can be described as disorganised. “His capacity to relate to other people may be impaired. This may lead to an impairment in the mother’s capacity to love and in the child’s emotional response.”

It was Important to determine what the mother felt in these cases, said Dr. Lewis. It was difficult to advise supervisors what course of action they should take in their efforts to assist the disturbed child. “Even if your advice goes against the accepted tendencies, you should pursue it providing it does not produce anxiety in either mother or child.”

What they should alm to develop in the disturbed child was “a basic sense of trust” “The thing that is primarily impaired in adult psychotics is this basic sense of trust When this fails, anxiety becomes dominant and this is a child’s neurosis. “Phobias of childhood are clinical manifestations of neurosis in children. To determine in a neurotic child the factors leading up to their emotional behaviour is very important “Aggression is part of normal intelligence but not when it becomes a response to frustration. You need to analyse the situation that leads to this behaviour in the children.

“Disturbed children who deviate seriously from the normal pattern of behaviour need most help. But unfortunately, in this extraordinary world of ours, they get the least,” said Dr. Lewis.