Stressful School Work

Abstract

An 11-year old girl with a nonspecific EEG abnormality and a mild dyscalculia was tested on five separate occasions. Testing consisted of EEG monitoring while she performed five separate tasks as follows: (1) rest; (2) key pressing; (3) a learning task; (4) arithmetic; (5) easy reading. The results demonstrated significantly greater EEG discharge activity when she was working on either the arithmetic or the learning tasks than when she was involved with any of the other tasks. Questions raised are whether this child is representative of a group of school children who may show EEG disorganization under stress, and whether sub-clinical EEG disorganization may have an effect on the child's school functioning and behavior.