In a work devoted to trauma due to physical handicap in children, Shirley Hoxter (1986) clearly explains the development possibilities of children affected by cerebral palsy. She states it in a very simple sentence: “The child who is affected by a physical handicap from its birth, starts life with parents being shocked by its condition, and goes on growing up in a society which also is shocked by its existence.” This sentence highlights the three protagonists whose role is fundamental in the child's emotional, relational, and cognitive development—namely, the child, the parents, and the society (represented generally by the health carers).

As already stated at the beginning of this book, the literature illustrates how the child's existential condition during its early life depends strictly on the functioning of its relationship with its mother, where the primitive interacting processes play an