The subject of this study is the clinical investigation of a state which is known variously as organic brain disease (Bender1), organic drivenness (Kahn and Cohen2), brain injury (Strauss3), organic state Silver4), and minimal cerebral injury (Gesell5).
The definition of Strauss and Lehtinen is most apt in its specificity and inclusiveness for delineating the subject of this investigation. These authors define a brain-damaged child as "one who before, during, or after birth has received an injury to or an infection of the brain. As a result of such organic impairment, defects of the neuromotor system may be present or absent; however, such a child may show disturbances in perception, thinking, and emotional behavior, either separately or in combination." The damage referred to may be the result of trauma, hemorrhage, infection, toxic agents, or anoxia and can conceivably occur at any stage in the life cycle,