Biomedical subjects
A Gath
Publications and source records attributed to A Gath.
A visit to Romania in October 1990 and to Leros in May 1991.
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Down syndrome children and their families.
The philosophy of community care means that responsibility for the care of children with Down syndrome (DS) remains still more firmly with the families. Demographic changes have made the typical DS family of the 1970s and 1980s differ in structure, size, and status from that typical of earlier decades. The findings of a population study of DS children and their families, matched with children with a similar degree of mental retardation, and of a longitudinal study of DS children born 1970-1972, are discussed in relation to a series of similar studies. From these results it is possible to identify vulnerable families for appropriate help.
How to help families with mental handicap.
Mentally handicapped children and adults are today cared for within the community. Their families have particular needs and fears and require support from their GP.
Living with a mentally handicapped brother or sister.
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Mentally handicapped people as parents.
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Retarded children and their siblings.
One hundred and eighty-three retarded children and their nearest-in-age siblings were investigated. Ninety-five of the retarded children had Down's syndrome and 88 were retarded for other reasons. Interviews with the parents were carried out at home. Questionnaires on behaviour and educational attainment were completed for the retarded child, the sibling and a classroom control for the sibling. The retarded children had more behaviour problems than their siblings, as expected. The behaviour problems in the sibling were more often found if the retarded child had much-disturbed behaviour, especially when the retarded child had Down's syndrome. The siblings in the non-Down's group had more reading problems and more behaviour disturbance in school than either the controls or the siblings of Down's syndrome group.
Behaviour problems in retarded children with special reference to Down's syndrome.
Data were collected, using interviews with parents and teachers and rating scales, concerning the behaviour of two groups of mentally retarded children: 193 children with Down's Syndrome (DS) and 154 children with a similar degree of handicap were identified in the same schools. The proportions of children who had high scores on the Rutter or an additional behaviour check list, were similar in the two groups. Deviant behaviour was markedly more common in both sets of retarded children than in their siblings next in age; 31% of the children with DS and 29% of controls were judged to be well adjusted, while 38% of the DS children and 49% of the controls had significant behaviour disorder. Conduct disorders were most common in the children with DS. 'Psychosis' was the most common diagnostic label in the control group, but was also found in the children with DS.
Family background of children with Down's syndrome and of children with a similar degree of mental retardation.
The families of Down's Syndrome children and another group with a similar degree of retardation were compared using data collected at interview. Differences in social class distribution were explained by the maternal age effect in the Down's group. Divorce was more common in the control group but the quality of marriage in those parents still together and the health of parents were similar. No close associations were found between behaviour disorders in the children and family factors, except that behaviour disorders were likely to be associated with similar disturbance in siblings next in age and to be more common in the less happy marriages.
Parental reactions to loss and disappointment: the diagnosis of Down's syndrome.
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Down's syndrome and the family: follow-up of children first seen in infancy.
Twenty-three survivors of a prospective study of infants with Down's syndrome were followed up at eight or nine years of age. All but three lived at home, and those three came home for weekends or school holidays. IQs varied from less than 20 to 80 (mean 48). IQ and adaptive behaviour scores were related to birthweight and muscle tone in infancy. Difficult behaviour was common, but differed from that of normal children. More of the parents had minor degrees of psychiatric disability than parents in the control families. Marital problems arising in the earlier years of the child's life persisted, but without further deterioration. The findings indicate that the priorities for these families are to help the parents deal with emotional repercussions, to teach communication skills to the child, and to diagnose and treat difficult behaviour.
Down's syndrome and the family.
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Cerebral degeneration in Down's syndrome.
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Differences between girls and boys admitted to a child psychiatry ward.
Forty-one girls consecutively admitted to a child psychiatric ward were compared with a similar series of boys. The girls were referred for somatic symptoms more often than the boys, and more often complained of spells, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. Fighting and poor concentration were more common among the boys. Fewer girls than boys were diagnosed as having conduct disorder, while more had anorexia nervosa. The combination of somatic complaints and conduct problems occurred only in the girls. The authors believe that some of these patients may have had hysteria. The backgrounds of the two groups were remarkably similar but conduct disorder in the girls was not associated with alcoholism or antisocial behavior in their parents. On the other hand more girls seemed to have experienced psychological stresses that might have precipitated their disorders.
Emotional, behavioural, and educational disorders in diabetic children.
This study assesses the emotional and educational status of a group of diabetic children and considers the interaction of these measurements with diabetic control. Information was collected on 76 diabetic children (43 boys and 33 girls) by means of interviews at their clinic and two questionnaires, including the Rutter B2 behavioural scale, which were completed by their schools. This information was compared with estimates of diabetic control. The mean age of these children was 10.9 years and their mean duration of diabetes 3.5 years. Information was also obtained, by means of a questionnaire completed by teachers, on a group of nondiabetic children. Psychiatric disorder was not more common in the diabetic children than in the controls, but diabetic children were more backward at reading. 20 diabetic children were at least two years behind and 6 were between one and two years behind with reading. The figures for the nondiabetic children were 10 and 1 respectively. There was a correlation between poor diabetic control and the presence of psychiatric disorder, and backwardness in reading. In 39% of diabetic children there were adverse psychosocial factors in the family background. Poor diabetic control correlated with the presence of adverse psychosocial factors. In any serious attempt at achieving diabetic control in children, attention to insulin and diet must not be divorced from attention to the domestic, scholastic, and emotional problems of the child.
Parents as therapists of mentally handicapped children.
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Emotional needs in a new family.
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The impact of an abnormal child upon the parents.
Thirty families with a newborn mongol baby were matched with thirty families with a normal baby. Both groups were followed for eighteen months to two years and interviewed six times. Few differences could be found in the mental or physical health of the two groups of parents, but marital breakdown or severe marital disharmony was found in nine of the mongol families and in none of the controls.