[Maternal personality and role in the rehabilitation of physically handicapped subjects].

The paper focuses on the importance of affective relations within the handicapped child's family during rehabilitation. In particular, the personality of the mother, as expressed for example through her pedagogical approach and emotive attitude, is correlated to the degree of success of the re-educational programme. Twelve children with neurological handicaps were monitored during a programme of rehabilitative physiotherapy. The mother-child relations were studied, focusing on the mother's difficulty in accepting her child's situation and adequately responding to the child's requirements, with the aim of identifying those instruments which promote, as far as possible, "separation" and autonomy. The study underlines the need for a medical team with which the parents can communicate both to obtain correct information and to diminish their anxiety in order to facilitate therapy and also establish a more satisfactory relationship with the handicapped child.