Psychological considerations in a group of children with poliomyelitis

Abstract

Summary<ul><li>1.A group of fifty-two children with poliomyelitis were followed by regular interviews and psychological examinations for three years.</li><li>2.Those patients who made a complete recovery from the motor effects of the disease were likely to be emotionally fragile and often showed psychological symptoms suggesting cerebral involvement. These difficulties combined with the emotional upheaval created by the illness resulted in many problems.</li><li>3.Those patients who developed sufficient motor disability to require prolonged hospitalization and orthopedic care showed certain characteristic disturbances:<li>a.Those in the age-group one to five years were found to have an irregular mental development. During the first years of hospitalization, a lag in speech development was particularly noted. Difficulty in comprehension of object relationships was noted. Unsatisfactory emotional adjustment was observed, which improved gradually after the child's discharge to the home, but in most cases left some marks upon the patient's personality development.</li><li>b.Those in the age group five years and over showed varying symptoms, ranging from short attention spans, difficulty in concentration and resulting learning difficulties to more specific disturbances in functions of abstraction suggesting nervous system involvement. General emotional fragility was also quite evident. All these signs were prominent during the first year. After this, they tended to recede, though traces were still discernible for several years.</li><li>4.This study suggests that poliomyelitis, first as a specific infection of the central nervous system and second, as a crippling disease leading to prolonged hospitalization and immobilization, tends to produce interference with normal mental and emotional development.</li><li>5.On the basis of this study, it is recommended that greater attention be paid to psychological factors in the care of these children as follows:<li>a.Careful psychological appraisal of children recovering from poliomyelitis will be useful in order to protect the recovering child from undue mental strain.</li><li>b.Supportive technique during the period of readjustment of the child to the home may help relieve parents' anxieties and children's emotional problems in the convalescent period.</li><li>c.Special programs devised to compensate the hospitalized and immobilized child for restricted experiences will be useful in mitigating problems in emotional, mental, and social development.</li></li></li></ul>