Minimal brain dysfunction in children

Abstract

The physician is important in helping to identify and treat children with MBD. Although the handicapping symptoms of MBD may seem minor when compared with the immediacy of life-threatening or serious prolonged physical illness, these handicaps are indeed major disabilities for children as they attempt to meet the demands of school and a technological society. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary in both diagnosis and treatment. A child who has not had the benefit of both a medical evaluation and a behavioral assessment has not had a complete diagnostic evaluation. The aim is away from medically oriented diagnostic labeling (which has little or no value in terms of educational needs), to a method of referring to both the child and the program of remediation in terms understandable to the parent and usable by the teacher. Because of the complexity of the problem and the changing needs of the growing child, periodic re-evaluation is essential. Pharmacotherapy should be used only when indicated and only after a complete diagnostic assessment. It should not be used simply for the convenience of parent or the school. Once drug treatment is initiated, close observation of the child for desired effect is mandatory. It is the physician's responsibility to provide a framework for the treatment of the child with MBD. If a multidisciplinary team is not available in your community, perhaps you can serve as a catalyst in bringing professionals together for this purpose. Along with parents, teachers and other specialists, the physician can make a tremendous contribution toward helping children with MBD attain fulfillment of their potential.