Abstract. A case of 12-year-old girl with a Stereotypic Movement Disorder is presented, illustrating the developmental and multifactorial approach in the understanding of childhood emotional and behavior disorders. The inadequate early interaction between the immediate environment and the infant, due to an illness of the baby and temperamental factors, gives rise to disadvantageous constellation of personality development. Most visible and at the first glance most drastic feature – the stereotypic movement – is far from being the essential symptom. Several individual emotional and behavior characteristics impair the child’s functioning and put in risk his further personality development. This demonstrates the necessity of holistic intervention approach targeted both at the child and his environment.

Key words: Stereotypic Movement Disorder, early deprivation, personality formation

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