RT Journal
A1 BLUMBERG ML
T1 EMotional and personality development in neuromuscular disorders
JF A.M.A. Journal of Diseases of Children
JO A.M.A. Journal of Diseases of Children
YR 1959
FD September 1
VO 98
IS 3
SP 303
OP 310
DO 10.1001/archpedi.1959.02070020305003
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1959.02070020305003
AB The personality development of the child who is afflicted with a neuromuscular disorder from birth may differ greatly from that of normal children. The usual environmental and psychological factors that influence maturation are modified by the attitudes of other persons toward the disabled one and by his own attitudes toward his defects and the limitations which they impose upon him.During the first few formative years, the normal child develops increasing physical independence as his motility and equilibrium patterns mature, enabling him to erect himself against gravity and to locomote independently. This growing capability is paralleled by the ego development and the appreciation of body image concept. The development of speech is a major step in communication and greatly facilitates the child's contact with his environment. The alteration of these patterns of maturation by central or peripheral neuromuscular disorders may influence profoundly the individual's personality. This results from the anxiety