Children’s Mental Illness and Family Bonds: A Case Study of a Student with Learning Difficulties

Introduction

Childhood is considered an important phase of human development, once it presents itself as structuring in the formation of the future adult. This phase is tangentialized by several factors, such as physical, intellectual and emotional [1]. At this stage of the development, the relevance of family bonds, quality of social environment and emotional aspect to maturing the psychical apparatus is highlighted, being these factors also influencers in the ability of the child’s learning environment. According to Winnicott DW [2] child mental health can be understood as the quality of the family bond that allows the development of human subjectivity. As well as the formation of healthy bonds can serve as a protection factor for the development of child mental health [3]. For Dumas JE [4] there are two large groups of mental disorder in childhood. The first of them refers to the disorders of psychological development and in the background behavior and emotional disorders. The disorders of psychological development are presented at the beginning of the first or second childhood, with characteristics of commitment or delay of functions associated with the biological issues and lack of maturing of the central nervous system.

The second class, is normally presented during the first five years of life, and can come accompanied by a cognitive deficit and a specific delay of motricity and language and psychosocial factors, which are tangentialized by the dysfunctions in family life, inducing situations of stress and environmental factors, like problems in the community (urban violence) and types of abuse (physical, psychological and sexual). [5]. Another point to be problematized are the “behavioural problems”, being these understood by conducts or actions considered socially inadequate, which represent behavioural deficits or excesses that harm the interaction of the child with the pairs and adults of their coexistence, associated only with the individual, these behaviors can be named externalizing or internalizing problems [4, 6].

According to Martins SK [7], the intensity of impacts caused on children due to marital adversity will depend, especially on the way she’s exposed to situations. This could trigger psychic symptoms like anxiety, depression and aggression, but also contribute positively in other ways, as in the development of the ability to solve problems. Among the externalizing problems are gathered in these item characteristics as impulsivity, physical or verbal aggression, agitation and provocation. The internalized ones are classified as concern in excess, retraction, sadness, shyness, insecurity and fears are often manifested in disorders as depression, social isolation and anxiety [4, 8]. According to Pedersen IH, et al. [9]. The problems of externalizing behaviors are more often in boys. The girls present fewer problems in general and the complaints refer to internalized behaviour and such psychopathology can contribute to cognitive failures in children [10].

These differences can be related to gender, since the boys are usually more active, aggressive, independent and girls are more passive, less aggressive and have better social interactions [9]. In this sense Martins SK [7] It is suggested that the child’s psychic suffering is related to his family context and, besides, when the youngest member of the family presents psychic illness the entire family dynamics is modified [7]. In addition, other factors may also contribute to the emergence and maintenance of behavioural problems, such as socioeconomic factors, family issues, such as family size, parental psychopathologies, severe disciplinary practices, psychological violence, genetic factors, individual characteristics, among others [11, 12, 13, 14]. According to these authors, mental health problems are present in greater numbers in children exposed to vulnerability factors, such as low levels of education, living in places without assistance and with poor security, and being susceptible to different forms of violence.

When the child is in psychological suffering the learning process can be harmed [15]. The diagnosis of the difficulties and the disorders of learning difficulties are essentially done from the academic performance of the child [16]. But also, the relationship between cognitive capacity and the feelings that the individual has of himself, as well as delays in child development may be taken into consideration [17]. Besides, the diagnosis involves interdisciplinary in at least three areas, neurology, psychopedagogy and psychology [16]. In Learning Disorders (LD), normal patterns of skill acquisition are disturbed since the early stages of development, and are acquired due to lack of adequate stimulation or any form of trauma or brain disease. In addition, the disorder must be present since the first years of schooling, persists, despite adequate specific care. Cognitive assessment ruled out mental disabilities, causes such as difficulties in the route and/or secondary were ruled out, and there is history of family background with learning difficulties. The LD has a dimensional nature, that is, particularly affects reading, and occurs along a gravity continuum [16, 18]. Learning difficulties though, are characterized by disorder or dysfunction in the process of learning [16]. The authors Rotta NT, et al. [16] suggest some proper characteristics of learning difficulties. First, the child with a learning struggle has an incompatible performance with cognitive ability expected for his age and his difficulties are far greater than presented by his colleagues. Such difficulties are often transient and can be minimized when diagnosed in preschool, should be worked by respecting their limitations and allowing these children to also interact with knowledge [16].

Although there is a relationship between learning disorders and learning difficulties, it is of fundamental importance to know them apart, not making the mistake of always associating one thing to another [19]. Besides, the learning difficulties relate to an individual who has a different way of learning [20]. In this sense, positive family interaction, their communication and the presence of healthy bonds enables the development of child mental health [4]. Therefore, the better the quality of family relationship the smaller will be the indicators of child psychological suffering and best academic performance [21]. Such development happens because the family is the child’s support, also enabling the development of their social and cognitive skills, assisting in their academic performance. In short, family guidance and support contribute to a satisfactory performance of the child in his school environment [22].

Thus the possible learning problems can have a direct relationship with the problems in the family bonds [23]. According to the study carried out by Souza LBD, et al. [22] it was possible to identify emotional suffering characterized by learning problems, when children and teenagers are neglected by family and/or school. In the face of this stalemate appears the performance of neuropsychopedagogy that takes primordial role in the evaluation, identification and intervention of such learning difficulties [24]. Neuropsychopedagogy fully notices the individual, with cognitive abilities and inserted into a social environment, where it influences and is influenced by it. That’s why it’s now to clarify a little bit about how neuropsycopedagogy understands and acts in the face of learning difficulties [25].

Besides, the neuropsychopedagogist assists in building relationships between school, family and student, as it enlarges the abilities to intervene in the statement of new educational procedures and creatively build neuropsychopedagogical alternatives [26]. Such interventions promote a more humanizing school environment, as it also resignifies educational practices so that can establish and promote significant pedagogical practices, more transformative and emancipatory [27]. So, actions that promote skills and capabilities for cognitive and/or emotional development of children in the context of this problem related to learning are essential for the student to achieve the necessary advantage in terms of formal knowledge. Besides, neuropsychopedagogy can provide the guidance needed for the organization of family bonds [27]. Thus, the aim of this paper was presenting an understanding of the reasons for the learning difficulties of a child with a history of school failure and its relation to family bond and yet, applying a neuropsychopedagogical intervention built by the author.

Methodology

It’s a clinical case study with qualitative, exploratory and longitudinal approach.

Discussion

The learning problems are recurring and they deserve a highlight, in terms of discussion and intervention, for even though they’ve slowed down in statistical yearbooks, the prevalence of disorders and learning difficulties varies between 5 to 15% among school-age children, in different languages and cultures [18]. In Sandro’s case, despite a satisfactory academic performance, one observes severe learning difficulties linked in cognitive processes, specifically in abstract thinking. His intelligence has been classified as extremely low for his schooling and his age group [29]. According to Piaget J [44], cognitive development is a construction, and abstraction is the last indicator to be conquered at the formal operational stage. Sandro is still at the concrete operational stage and therefore lies outside the normality of cognitive development for his chronological age. It is assumed, as a hypothesis, that the learning difficulties, linked to failure in Sandro’s abstract thoughts are associated with parental frailties, and of personality construction. This result corroborates with Silva MASE, et al. [45] confirming that the weakening of affective bonds, relational, or linked to violence reverberates in negative reflexes that harm cognitive development and contribute to increase the difficulty of learning.

Besides, the presence of psychological suffering prevents normal development of Sandro’s cognitive processes. Such a finding corroborates with the results of Ramires VRR, et al. [3], suggesting that sadness and depression, as well as anxiety associated, in a significant way to parental stress variable and harm learning. The difficulties of learning in this case, represent a form of inadequate and inferior self- representation, which attributes only negative aspects of oneself, with the presence of feelings of sadness and high indicators of internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depression and somatic complaints). So the construction of a self, integrated, capable and self-employed is a challenge so that teaching-learning processes can happen. The process of reading and learning can represent a new psychic position internally and constitutes a challenge and a mental and psychic effort. Sandro lies in the process of alphabetization, and therefore sees himself far from the performance of other classmates. It’s common in the alphabetization phase, for Sandro to face anguish as an effect of the demands to which he must fulfil [16].

The school in turn shows itself concerned about maintenance of the school calendar and goals to be achieved. These social demands put the school and the teacher paradoxically, in confrontation in the children’s learning process. Some questions are raised, “How to think the desire to learn in Sandro that even though being in fifth grade, begins school life?” “What does it represent, in the perspective of desire, the learning process for school and for Sandro?” “How to understand Sandro’s admission in the literacy process and the place of his desire in the learning process?” [46]. In addition, he identifies himself as “dumb”, so he could not “start learning” because he would lose his already known identification. This position may arise from fragile family relationships, permeated by interests in physical and verbal aggression. The deconstruction of this “dumb” place becomes an important factor for the teaching- learning process, but also for the development of personality factors. Therefore, it is understood that Sandro’s cognitive deficit is a symptom of a family arrangement that does not satisfy the student’s affective needs. Such a finding is in line with Faccini A, et al. [47] showing that fragile and inconsistent bonds, perpetrated by conflict, are indicators of insecure attachment, which make the symbolization capacity difficult and by consequence abstract thoughts. It’s important to point out that the role played by the family represents in the education of the child is a primordial factor in the formation of self-esteem, and consequently in learning.

The family environment provides the first learning, having essential function in the development and/or inhibition of this process [4]. Confidence, nominated as one of the aspects that facilitate Sandro’s learning, in the present research, can be easily facilitated from the parents’ empathy, establishment of a warm, careful relationship, favouring a greater socialization and consequent learning. Such hypothesis corroborates with Ferreira AA, et al. [48] when they claim that family support collaborates in the prevention of developing learning difficulties and in the decrease of psychological suffering. Sandro would need a warm and human environment to stimulate the development of a sense of self capable, autonomous, which provides him with the possibility of learning from his mistakes. The author Lasneaux MV [49] points out that children with learning difficulties, can be brilliant, creative and talented in other areas, but in our society, where the academic performance is highly valued, these children feel like failures, mainly if compared to the children who present a better cognitive development, thus creating a much more accentuated blockage in the learning process.

It stands out in the present study, that one way to deal with Sandro’s difficulties is to work with activities that involve verbal understanding, because that’s what’s best preserved. The student needs activities and tasks that are operationalized in a concrete way, because he presents difficulty symbolizing and organizing “inner world” reflecting such difficulty in the teaching-learning processes. An interesting idea is to think that at school the student Sandro can guarantee the construction of human psyche, which provides a warm, affective listening in front of fragile family relations. As neuropsychopedagogical interventions for Sandro’s emotional development process, continuing the psychotherapeutic process for the deconstruction of the negative representation that he possesses of himself is suggested. Besides, the strengthening of family relations, by building bridges among the teacher and family and school psychologist, is essential, to reinforce the representation of a more integrated, stable personality, and a sense of self capable and autonomous.

In this perspective of strengthening bonds, the relationship with his current teacher is essential. As interventions, working with sustained attention exercises; observing the student’s seat and tasks that distract him so that they are modified and avoided; giving instructions before the beginning of the task and verifying if the student understands them, asking for his feedback; constantly supporting the student; giving positive feedback, immediately after performing tasks, offering positive reinforcement; working with stimulating materials so that they catch the student’s attention and provide opportunities for learning; working with recordings, oral activities, dynamics, markers, post-it notes, among other resources is suggested; not criticizing negatively; establishing intervals between activities; waiting for the student’s timing; allowing movement and displacement during school activities. The present research, through neuropsychopedagogical intervention, did not focus on the preventive nature of family support, but on the identification of evidence that may be impairing school performance. In this sense, the interventions carried out with Sandro endorsed areas that the extensive scientific production recommends for the subject, that is, working with cognitive and executive functions in learning, combined with the importance of emotions and the investigation of manifested symptoms [18, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54].

Learning problems are not unique factors of Sandro, because the most harmed tasks are those that involve a basic reasoning, characteristic of the development process, so family agents may also have failed in the support of this individual [3]. Neuropsychopedagogy even proposes Sandro to be the author of his learning process and that intervening in the process is to create mechanisms so that the learner can transform reality as well as himself. Also in need of the help of family members in administration and social interaction.

Final Considerations

This job has aimed to understand the relationship between learning difficulties, of a student enrolled in the public education network in southern Brazil, and family bonds. This study highlights that the quality of family bonds impacts in the student’s teaching-learning process. The family environment is one of the factors related to the construction of personality and construction of its representations. Sandro presents failures in the representation of his self, which is constituted as inadequate, inferior and fragmented. The student is in the process of alphabetization, and identifies himself with the position of “dumb”. The identification with this place is the result of intra and interpersonal relations the student lives in. Therefore, it is suggested that the difficulties of learning are a symptom of environmental failures and binding frailty. The student’s teaching-learning process should take into account Sandro’s capabilities, as easiness in front of activities involving verbal understanding and operationalizing them in concrete practices. The stimulation of his potentialities and skills is essential so that Sandro doesn’t demotivate himself in the activities that can present difficulty [55, 56].

School and family play an essential role in Sandro’s personality and teaching- learning development. The student is in the process of learning how to read and write, which psychically represents the ability to understand and read who he is. By running into a sense of disintegrated and negative self, Sandro finds difficulties wanting to learn and perform a reading on his reality. However, the deconstruction of this “dumb” place for the construction of a place of “not knowing” is essential to promote the development of both cognitive and teaching-learning processes. The development of Sandro’s potentialities with constant stimuli, aiming at his biopsychosocial and educational development, providing him with the opportunity to build knowledge, autonomy and self-control for the exercise of his citizenship. This study highlights as limitations, the study of a single case, which cannot generate generalizations on the subject involved. Longitudinal monitoring could be performed to measure how Neuropsychopedagogy could help in the deconstruction process of this place from “dumb” to “not knowing”. It is worth highlighting that the interpretations do not take into account statistical tests to verify the reliability of the data. The study still suggests a higher investment in researches on this theme aiming such aspect invites new investigations, especially from cultural effects and cultural appreciation of certain kinds of family support or others, since certain aspects can be more or less valued in the school as a result of local culture.