L’objectif de l’étude est d’explorer ce que vivent les adolescents atteints de déficiences motrices avec troubles cognitifs associés, en mettant le focus sur les processus dépressifs maturatifs ou pathologiques.

Six adolescents présentant une déficience motrice avec des troubles cognitifs associés et accueillis en institut d’éducation motrice en internat ont participé à l’étude. Différents outils ont été utilisés : un entretien semi-directif, les planches de la version pour adolescent de l’épreuve projective le Dynamique Personnelle et Images (Perron, 1969), analysées selon la grille de cotation élaborée par l’école de Paris et selon la grille d’élaboration de la position dépressive d’Emmanuelli, ainsi que l’Échelle Composite de Dépression (Berndt, Kaiser et Castro, 1999).

Les résultats mettent en évidence la présence d’affects dépressifs, d’une souffrance psychique, ainsi qu’un sentiment d’impuissance et une insécurité affective. L’inhibition et une recherche d’étayage émergent chez ces adolescents qui sont en difficulté pour mobiliser leurs ressources. L’avenir est problématique pour eux. Ils sont souvent dans une grande solitude, échangent peu avec leurs pairs et ne trouvent de soutien que chez les professionnels.

Cette étude exploratoire montre la nécessité de mieux prendre en compte leurs souffrances psychiques, et de les accompagner dans l’élaboration de la position dépressive. Il s’agit aussi de favoriser le déploiement de leurs relations sociales.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the experience of adolescent life in young people affected by physical disability and cognitive disorders, in order to focus on the maturative or pathological depressive processes. This qualitative and exploratory study explores the subjective experience of these adolescents and aims to compensate for the lack of research into the understanding of depressive affects present in some young people with a disability at this particular period of their life.

Six adolescents with physical disability and cognitive disorders (with cerebral palsy or progressive neuromuscular disease) in the care of a special school (Institut d’Éducation Motrice - IEM), a boarding school, participated in this study. Based on an inductive approach, tools used are identical to those used in clinical practice. A semi-directive interview, the DPI (Perron, 1969), a projective test on the development of self-image, and the MDI-C (Castro, 1999), providing data on elements from the depressive register and their signification, were used.

The results indicate the emergence of depressive feelings, a psychological distress, a sense of powerlessness and an insecure attachment. The results indicate also that these adolescents present an inhibition and search for scaffolding because they have difficulty to mobilize their resources. Projection in the future is also complex for them. They often have great loneliness, and exchanges with their peers, other adolescents, are infrequent. They only find support from professionals, not from other young people, whereas in adolescence the peer group is normally a resource.

This study offers clinical perspectives in caring for young people and their family. It shows the need to take more into account the intrapsychic life of these adolescents, to detect their resources to help themselves and better take into account their psychics suffering. It is also necessary to help them to elaborate on their depressive position. Accompanied, the depressive affects can take a structuring dimension and can develop these adolescents’ abilities to talk about themselves, to think of themselves as a unique and autonomous person. It is also a question of favoring the deployment of their social relations. The methodology used confirms the need to conduct clinical research with this population, to understand better what is at stake at this period, and the importance of depressive affects.