Describing the psychological service offered by a psychological center to learning disabled children

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe the Psychology Service offered to children with learning disabilities at a Medical School Hospital in the state of São Paulo. Twenty-five children (15 mate and 10 female) with ages ranging from 7 to 12 (mean= 9.12; S.D.=1.69) participated in the study. The following data were collected from their medical records between 1996 and 1997: identification, family social aspects, reference source, complaints, diagnosis and treatment recommendations. The results showed that health professionals were the main reference sources (n=14). The most frequent complaints were specific development disorders and lack of school abilities (n=22) followed by externalizing behavior disorders (n=19). The most frequent diagnosis were mental retardation (n=9) and learning disabilities (n=6). Parent training was the main treatment recommendation. A correspondence was found between main complaints and treatment recommendations. Parent training and multidisciplinary intervention are known as treatment recommendations although further researches are needed to assess the efficacy of such treatments.

psychological reference; parent training; learning disability