ABSTRACT
A pair of 3 1/2-year-old twins who had possibly witnessed their mother's murder were examined by a child psychiatrist and a child psychologist as part of a judicial inquiry. The procedure developed specially for this purpose, the actual course of the investigation and the evaluation of the findings with regard to psychological aspects of evidence are discussed. The theoretical part of the study deals with the current state of knowledge and the problems relating to evidence given by young children as witnesses. The main emphasis is on general and specific credibility, identification of people associated with the crime, suggestibility and probabilities related to guessing, perceptual and memory performance, and minimization of emotional sequelae in children who are witnesses to violent crimes. The authors conclude that preschool children can be reliable witnesses in preliminary hearings and court proceedings.
Subject(s)
Defense Mechanisms , Expert Testimony/legislation & jurisprudence , Homicide/legislation & jurisprudence , Maternal Deprivation , Mental Recall , Adult , Child, Preschool , Female , Homicide/psychology , Humans , Male , Personality Assessment , Twins, Dizygotic/psychologyABSTRACT
For diagnosing dyslexia (Legasthenie) we describe a neurological, psychiatric and psychodiagnostic examination, which was practicable for clinical use. Furthermore we critical new trends in pedagogical and school-ministerial institutions neglecting clinical facts concerning the complexities of causes, primary and secondary symptoms of reading and writing disorders. Finally various scientific efforts are reviewed which aim at gaining more precise knowledge on the correlations between physiological brain processes and the normal or disturbed learning of reading and writing.
Subject(s)
Dyslexia/diagnosis , Brain Damage, Chronic/diagnosis , Child , Child Development , Diagnosis, Differential , Humans , Intelligence , Psychological Tests , Social Environment , WritingABSTRACT
We report upon school-children with speech disorders who were examined by a standardized neurological examination. Compared with normal school-children the speech disturbed children show a higher degree of minor nervous dysfunction. The results can be interpreted as a focal disturbance resp. as a developmental deficit of the CNS. Our findings are congruent with those known in literature. We propose to use the discriminating neurological subtests of the mentioned examination as a screening for speech and motor disturbances even in preschool-age.
Subject(s)
Brain Damage, Chronic/diagnosis , Neurologic Examination , Speech Disorders/diagnosis , Child , Child Development , Female , Humans , Male , Neuromuscular Diseases/diagnosis , Psychomotor PerformanceSubject(s)
Mental Disorders/therapy , Psychotherapy/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Neurotic Disorders/therapy , PrognosisABSTRACT
Problems of terminology, differential diagnosis, etiology and therapy of language development disorders are demonstrated by a casuistic example. Besides the importance of clinical date special attention was laid on neuropsychological diagnostic procedures and their therapeutic implications. Therapeutic interventions concerning language deficits should be developed individually and in accordance to the diagnostic findings. An early and reliable objectivation of etiology as well as of the degree of the language development disorder is necessary in order to avoid detours of the children through different intitutions.
