minimal brain dysfunction
- noun
- /ˈmɪnɪməl breɪn dɪsˈfʌŋkʃən/
- Archaic
:
disfunción cerebral mínima
- Early diagnosis of minimal brain dysfunction can help implement effective learning strategies for affected children.
Examples
-
Many boys diagnosed with minimal brain dysfunction face challenges in learning and behavior in school.
-
ADD was originally considered as "minimal brain dysfunction" and thus related to learning disability (Riccio & Jemison, 1998).
Academic text (1999) -
The term minimal brain dysfunction was once widely used to describe issues that are now identified as ADHD.
Synonyms
45
4.0
A condition that makes it hard to pay attention, stay still and control impulses in daily life
44
4.0
A condition where children have trouble paying attention and often act without thinking or are very restless
11
3.6
A condition that makes it hard to pay attention and sometimes makes people very active or act without thinking
4
3.8
A condition often in children causing trouble paying attention, being very active and acting without thinking
1
9.6
A childhood condition causing learning and behavior problems and too much activity
A health problem in children, often boys, causing too much activity, trouble behaving and learning problems
A mild brain problem in children, often in boys, that causes problems with behaviour and learning
How Serious
- Specialized
5
3.2
- Archaic
Surface Forms
Morphology
minimal + brain + dysfunction
The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'minimal' (small/least) + 'brain' (the organ) + 'dysfunction' (impaired functioning) yields an understandable concept of slight impairment of brain function. This compositional medical phrase is therefore transparently interpretable by a B1 learner who knows the component words, even if they might not know the precise clinical label or historical usage.
Etymology
Minimal brain dysfunction was a medical label doctors used to say there was a very small problem in the brain that made a child have trouble paying attention or controlling activity. The words minimal, brain, and dysfunction give the image of a tiny brain fault causing learning or behaviour problems, and that is why the phrase came to mean what we now call 'ADHD'.