Dates Examined: 7/8,1976, 11/08/1976, 11/26/1976, 12/09/1976, 1/26/1977
18 hours were spent in interviews and in preparation of the report.
The parent’s were referred to this agency by the Psychiatric Emergency Unit.
DEREK: Age 6½
Derek is described as a child with severe emotional and behavioral problems. Neurological, psychological and learning disability evaluations were done on Derek. Neurological tests indicate he is functioning on a normal 2 ½ to 4 year old level, they indicate “retardation”. The psychological examination done for the Learning Disability Evaluation diagnose Derek as having Erratic Psychosis. Both foster homes have reported problems with Derek’s encopretic and eneuretic behavior. Behavior was immature. Derek talked frequently about guns, knives and hurting others. Derek has confusion of word tense and does not differentiate between today, yesterday, tomorrow.
The child is “below average.” Derek cannot read, add, or identify some letters.
The uniformity of the delay suggests organic “Mild Retardation” rather than psychosocial problems, but time will tell.
Derek’s background includes extreme physical and economic impoverishment during infancy, and a father who brutalized the child.
Both foster homes have reported problems with Derek’s encopretic and eneuretic behavior. The mother describes Derek’s father as an ex-convict and an alcoholic, with severe emotional problems. The mother lost contact with Derek’s father soon after the child’s birth, but believes he returned to prison shortly thereafter for involvement in several armed robberies. Derek’s mother is the daughter of an abusive and alcoholic father. It has been discovered that Derek’s father is in prison for the criminally insane.
It is suspected that Derek never got that far in development. By the time he was a year old, Derek had probably pretty much withdrawn from reality.