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Biomedical subjects

W A Weinberg

Publications and source records attributed to W A Weinberg.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Use of the Symbol Language and Communication Battery in the physician's office for assessment of higher brain functions.

Higher brain functions are readily observable within the office setting. The Symbol Language and Communication Battery offers a systematic approach to evaluation, with resultant reproducible findings. It should be part of the neurologic evaluation for children who are having difficulty in their environments, with the differences in communication skills categorized into specific syndromes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Sleep EEG features of adolescents with major depression.

A substantial body of research in adults has established that certain sleep polysomnographic abnormalities are commonly found in depressed patients, including sleep continuity disturbances, reduced slow-wave sleep, shortened rapid eye movement (REM) latency and increased REM density. To date the findings in depressed adolescents are equivocal. Three consecutive nights of polysomnographic recordings were obtained in 31 hospitalized depressed adolescents and 17 age-matched normal controls. The depressed adolescents had a shorter REM latency, shorter sleep latency, more REM sleep, and less stage 3 nonREM (NREM) sleep. There was a trend for melancholic and suicidal patients to have a shorter REM latency.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

A practical approach to children failing in school.

The most likely causes of failure in school in otherwise capable children who come from homes in which they are loved and cared for are learning disabilities, affective illness, primary disorder of vigilance and, on occasion, narcolepsy. The various learning disabilities are often accompanied by problems of attention, concentration, organization, mood and feelings, and social interaction. These latter problems are reflections of biochemical disorders that respond effectively to judicious pharmacologic intervention. When this type of medical management is combined with constructive counseling and suitable curriculum adjustments, the child can attain his or her maximum education potential and become a productive and contributing adult member of society.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1991

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: the differential diagnosis.

Children and adolescents doing poorly in school or at home or both are often labelled as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Frequently the referred child is not examined systematically for the presence of other disorders. This paper presents the diagnostic criteria and management of disorders that may be wrongly identified as ADHD or may coexist with ADHD, thus complicating identification and treatment. The disorders discussed are depression, mania, primary disorder of vigilance, narcolepsy, developmental specific learning disorders, conduct disorders, and acquired neurologic deficits.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1990

Children with major depression show reduced rapid eye movement latencies.

A substantial body of research in adults has established that certain sleep polysomnographic abnormalities are commonly found in depressed patients, including sleep continuity disturbances, reduced slow-wave sleep, shortened rapid eye movement (REM) latency, and increased REM density. To date, these abnormalities have not been documented in depressed children compared with age-matched controls. Three consecutive nights of polysomnographic recordings were obtained in 25 hospitalized depressed children and 20 age-matched healthy controls. The depressed patients had reduced REM latencies. The shortest single-night REM latency of each individual was the most sensitive discriminating value between depressed subjects and controls. The influence of different scoring criteria in distinguishing depressed children from healthy children is discussed. In addition, depressed children had an increased sleep latency and increased REM time but did not have stage 4 differences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Primary disorder of vigilance: a novel explanation of inattentiveness, daydreaming, boredom, restlessness, and sleepiness.

We present a novel condition, designated as a primary disorder of vigilance, that has symptoms which overlap those of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Vigilance is the state of being watchful, awake, and alert. When vigilance is lost, the individual has difficulty sustaining attention. The most obvious evidence of lowered vigilance is motor restlessness (fidgeting and moving about, yawning and stretching, talkativeness, or a combination of these) to improve alertness when sitting or standing still or when involved in tasks requiring continuous mental performance. When prevented from being active to stay awake, persons with lowered vigilance will stare off, daydream, show minor hyperactivity, and finally may fall asleep. They will also have decreasing attention to current activities and usually avoid or lose interest in structured or repetitive activities (complaining of boredom and monotony). The primary disorder of vigilance (for which criteria have been established) is a dominantly inherited condition with onset in early childhood and worsening symptoms with age. Persons with the primary disorder of vigilance have a remarkably kind and caring temperament. When untreated this disorder can cause chronic failure at school and work, but when properly recognized it responds well to treatment with stimulant medication and schedules that avoid sameness and repetition.

Arousal↗
PubMed1990

Depressive symptoms by self-report in adolescence: phase I of the development of a questionnaire for depression by self-report.

As the first step in validating a criteria-based, self-report depression questionnaire specifically for children and adolescents and to determine the prevalence of self-reported depressive symptoms, we studied 3,294 high school students of mixed ethnic background in a large urban school district. They completed the Weinberg Screening Affective Scale. The 21-item Beck Depression Inventory was also completed to allow comparison with a previous study. The prevalence of clinically significant depressive symptoms suggesting depression by self-report ranged from 18% on the Beck Depression Inventory to 13% on the Weinberg Screening Affective Scale. Hispanic females had the highest scores, while white males had the lowest. Being behind in school, female, and nonwhite predicted more self-reported depressive symptoms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Pediatric behavioral neurology: an update on the neurologic aspects of depression, hyperactivity, and learning disabilities.

The high incidence of poor social adjustment in long-term follow-up studies of depressed children seems to relate to the inadequacy of the pharmacotherapy necessary to sustain long-lasting remission or possibly to repetitive inappropriate stresses. Insufficient antidepressant therapy with resultant intermittent depression-induced dysfunction of the socialization functions performed by the right cerebral hemisphere would not permit the child to develop appropriate interpersonal skills (causing failure in most social situations), and associated cognitive difficulties would complicate academic performance. Repeated school failure and chronic social ineptitude preclude development of the skills necessary for successful independent living in society. Thus, if symptoms of depression are found, it is imperative that the learning-disabled or behaviorally disturbed child or adolescent receive adequate antidepressant therapy to ensure complete long-term remission of the depression. In addition, learning-disabled individuals, even without apparent diagnosable depressive illness, must be offered appropriate methods for learning and communication which reduce stress. When such appropriate educational strategies are offered and poor performance still ensues (or continues), a trial of antidepressant therapy should be considered. Recognition of the depressive nature of symptoms may not be possible until treatment-induced improvement has occurred and depression-associated learning disability has resolved. Improvement in academic performance associated with improved cognitive function after treatment-induced remission of a depressive episode can be dramatic, with resolution of apparent learning disability. Poor educational achievement associated with chronic learning difficulties ultimately affects adult social functioning, and untreated or improperly treated chronic depression may result in the development of later personality disturbances. Therefore, before attributing school problems in children to untreatable conditions, depressive disorder must be excluded, and appropriate antidepressant therapy (along with removal of all apparent inappropriate stress, including inappropriate demands on brain function) should be provided to children and adolescents with evidence of depression.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1989

Comparison of paragraph comprehension test scores with reading versus listening-reading and multiple-choice versus nominal recall administration techniques: justification for the bypass approach.

Eight groups of learning disabled children (N = 100), categorized by the clinical Lexical Paradigm as good readers or poor readers, were individually administered the Gilmore Oral Reading Test, Form D, by one of four input/retrieval methods: (1) the standardized method of administration in which the child reads each paragraph aloud and then answers five questions relating to the paragraph [read/recall method]; (2) the child reads each paragraph aloud and then for each question selects the correct answer from among three choices read by the examiner [read/choice method]; (3) the examiner reads each paragraph aloud and reads each of the five questions to the child to answer [listen/recall method]; and (4) the examiner reads each paragraph aloud and then for each question reads three multiple-choice answers from which the child selects the correct answer [listen/choice method]. The major difference in scores was between the groups tested by the recall versus the orally read multiple-choice methods. This study indicated that poor readers who listened to the material and were tested by orally read multiple-choice format could perform as well as good readers. The performance of good readers was not affected by listening or by the method of testing. The multiple-choice testing improved the performance of poor readers independent of the input method. This supports the arguments made previously that a "bypass approach" to education of poor readers in which testing is accomplished using an orally read multiple-choice format can enhance the child's school performance on reading-related tasks. Using a listening while reading input method may further enhance performance.

Achievement↗
PubMed1989

Depression, learning disability, and school behavior problems.

It is possible that recurrent depression (primary affective illness) is the most significant variable related to school problems of a behavioral nature in children manifesting developmental specific learning disabilities. The association of school problems and depression was investigated at a private school for children with developmental specific learning disabilities. These children were of normal intelligence and were free of primary conduct or thought disturbances. Prior to entering school, 95% of the students fulfilled criteria for developmental specific learning disabilities and 64% for depression with or without hyperactivity. Students manifesting no diagnosable behavioral condition prior to entrance continued to be relatively free of behavioral problems during their stay at school. Students with both depression and hyperactivity showed the most problematic behavior followed by students with depression without hyperactivity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Comparison of nominal recall (standard) and multiple-choice methods for administration of WISC-R information subtest: a preliminary study indicating a learning effect of multiple-choice testing.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC--R) Information subtest was administered to learning disabled children using two methods of administration, the standard (recall) method and a multiple-choice format. Those children who were tested first with the multiple-choice format and subsequently with the standard format did better on the standard format than expected. This preliminary study suggests a learning effect of such multiple-choice testing and the desirability of further research being undertaken.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of reading and listening-reading techniques for administration of PIAT Reading Comprehension subtest: justification for the bypass approach.

The Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) Reading Comprehension subtest was administered to a group of 23 learning disabled children in Grades 5 through 7 who had been classified by the clinical Lexical Paradigm as good readers or poor readers. Using standardized test administration, 14 poor readers scored substantially below the 9 good readers; however, when the child was allowed to listen and read silently while the test item was read aloud, poor readers showed marked improvement in performance compared to only moderate improvement shown by the good readers. This difference in improvement between the groups was significant and resulted in poor readers achieving performance similar to that of the good readers administered the test in the standard manner.

Achievement↗
PubMed1987

Depression and dexamethasone suppression testing in children and adolescents.

The authors compare the incidence of dexamethasone nonsuppression in a large group of child and adolescent inpatients (N = 94) diagnosed by two criteria (DSM-III and Weinberg criteria). The incidence of dexamethasone suppression test nonsuppression in patients diagnosed with DSM-III major depressive disorder (n = 33) was 55%, compared to 11% in those with no affective disorder (n = 35). This was compared to the incidence of dexamethasone suppression test nonsuppression utilizing Weinberg criteria. In addition, symptoms that to varying degrees discriminated suppressors from nonsuppressors were examined. These included change in school performance and, to a lesser degree, somatic complaints and weight and appetite changes. Differences in the diagnostic criteria are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

A diagnostic approach to developmental specific learning disorders.

Children and adolescents who are not doing well in school are often referred to physicians for evaluation. Many of these children have average or above-average intelligence but are academically frustrated, low achievers. Parents state that although they are convinced that their child is bright, he or she does not seem to learn, and does not behave acceptably in school and at home. Results of the usual pediatric and neurologic examinations are frequently unrevealing. In evaluating children who are doing poorly in school, the clinician must determine whether the child has a developmental specific learning disorder and whether primary affective illness, disturbed vigilance, or hyperactivity complicates the picture. Children who are intelligent but failing in school frequently manifest either one or several of these conditions. Although there are reasonably well-established criteria for affective illness in children, clinically useful criteria for evaluating the variety of childhood learning problems have not been available. We present criteria for the diagnosis of developmental specific learning disorders and briefly mention some aspects of management and treatment. We also describe a primary disorder of vigilance that becomes manifest in school, worsening the learning and performance process, which is further worsened by affective illness.

Adolescent↗