Observation psychiatrique des enfants avec des difficultés scolaires entre 1951 et 1963

Abstract

The consultation files from the Centre d’hygiène éducative et de rééducation psychomotrice, preserved at the Archives de Paris, contain psychiatric observations of children with learning difficulties, primarily conducted by the center's director, Dr. Jean Dublineau. Our analysis focuses on 42 files of children aged 6 to 15 years, admitted between 1951 and 1963. These files provide valuable insights into the semiology, nosology, and etiology of psychiatric disorders in children during that period. The study of these psychiatric observations highlights the central importance given to physical signs and clinical information provided by psychometric tools, both reflecting a focus on scoring measurements. Regarding diagnoses, alongside the two main diagnostic axes (intellectual and character disorders), we observe the gradual emergence of diagnoses such as dysorthographia, dyslexia, and dysgraphia. In terms of etiology, Dr. Dublineau's approach primarily aligns with the hereditary theory; family histories of psychiatric and non-psychiatric disorders, syphilis, tuberculosis and alcoholism are systematically noted. Our study underscores the central role of numerical methods in the clinical practice of psychiatrists treating children with learning difficulties in the 1950s.