Reading disorders: Have we overlooked something?

Family schemata in families of symptomatic and normal children

Psychological distance within families was investigated by a family doll placement technique. Parents of emotionally disturbed boys tended to use a higher frequency of psychologically distant doll placement than did parents of normal boys. Parents of boys with learning problems used psychologically close doll placements more frequently than did parents of normal boys. Parents grouped the family into a single unit more frequently than their children when the child had learning problems. Siblings of children with learning problems were found to be symptom-free in comparison with siblings of disturbed children.

Conflicts in values and attitudes between parents of symptomatic and normal children

Conflicts between parents on their values and attitudes of acceptance or rejection toward their child were studied using the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values Scale and a parents' questionnaire. Parents who had a male child, aged 8 to 13 yr., participated in the research. Three groups of 10 mother-father pairs were formed, in which the child (a) was emotionally disturbed, (b) had a primary learning disorder, or (c) was normal. The hypothesis that parents of both groups of symptomatic children would have more value conflicts than parents of normal children was partially supported; parents of children with learning problems tended to be more conflicted than parents of normal and disturbed children. The hypothesis that parents of both groups of symptomatic children would be more discrepant in their acceptance or rejection of the child than parents of normal children was supported. Parents of children with learning problems had their greatest conflicts over values and acceptance-rejection of the child in areas most directly related to learning.