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Historically, the field of learning disability has been divided into those who see the problem primarily as an organic syndrome, often focusing on the aetiology of the condition, and those who locate it in the realm of education, focusing on remedial techniques. Alongside this debate there have been few contributions recently which relate to psychodynamic interpretations of learning disorders, and little or no attempt to integrate the various approaches.
The authors begin by commenting on these dichotomies. They are particularly concerned with putting forward an integrative perspective, because they feel that children and adolescents with learning disorders will best be served by this approach. The book is written primarily for those already familiar with psychoanalytic concepts and therefore focuses more heavily on neuropsychological factors, hoping to acquaint readers with unfamiliar parameters and controversies, and to foster better communications with analysts who work in this field.
The theoretical foundation on which the authors base their clinical work is the developmental framework, or interrelationship of physiological and psychological development. There is a very interesting section which deals with the impact of the child's neuropsychological development on developing ego functions. Specific neuropsychological dysfunctions are examined with reference to the development of object relations, and individual functions are looked at in the context of the child's experience of relating to the outside world.
Although the authors claim, in their attempt to define learning disorder, that the terminology is precise, there is much scope for overlap between categories. In fact, stating that learning disability is a learning disorder in children of normal intelligence, normal educational background and age-appropriate grade placement for chronological age, which is primarily based on unspecified but assumed neurocortical abnormalities or developmental lags, sounds suspi