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PubMed1989

Speech perception and the discrimination of brief auditory cues in reading disabled children.

The processing of speech and nonspeech sounds by 23 reading disabled children and their age- and sex-matched controls was examined in a task requiring them to identify and report the order of pairs of stimuli. Reading disabled children were impaired in making judgments with very brief tones and with stop consonant syllables at short interstimulus intervals (ISI's). They had no unusual difficulty with vowel stimuli, vowel stimuli in a white noise background, or very brief visual figures. Poor performance on the tones and stop consonants appears to be due to specific difficulty in processing very brief auditory cues. The reading disabled children also showed deficits in the perception of naturally produced words, less sharply defined category boundaries, and a greater reliance on context in making phoneme identifications. The results suggest a perceptual deficit in some reading disabled children, which interferes with the processing of phonological information.

Auditory Perception↗

PubMed1998

Working memory deficits of reading disabled children.

Aims of the study were to investigate the specificity of reading disabled childrens deficits in working memory capacity and to pursue whether their deficits could be accounted for by deficient processing or impairments in verbal short-term storage capacity. A group of 10-year-old reading disabled children was compared with two groups of normal reading children, matched for chronological age and reading age, respectively. Measures for working memory capacity, short-term capacity and processing speed related to the language and to the numerical domain were administered. Results indicated that reading disabled children performed worse on all measures of working memory capacity, irrespective of the domain which these measures reflected. Their poorer performance could neither be explained by inefficient processing nor to their deficits in verbal short-term storage capacity. Reading disabled children seem to have a general lack of capacity for the concurrent processing and storage of verbal information.

Child↗

PubMed1996

Transfer of spatial information from a virtual to a real environment in physically disabled children.

A group 10 severely physically disabled children explored a to-scale computer simulation of a real multi-storey building. Following exploration, their knowledge of the spatial properties of the real environment was assessed by asking them to point to fire apparatus that was not visible from the test site. Subjects in a control group were asked to complete the same assessment tasks, but without the opportunity to explore either the real building or the computer simulation. The estimates of the disabled children were superior to the control group indicating good transfer of spatial knowledge. Route finding and recognition reports provided support for the pointing data in indicating good transfer of spatial information.

Child↗

PubMed2002

[Melatonin treatment of sleep disorders in disabled children].

BACKGROUND: There is a high prevalence of chronic sleep-wake cycle disorders in developmentally and neurologically disabled children. Such disorders are often resistant to hypnotic and psychotropic drugs. Administration of exogenous melatonin can have an effect upon the circadian rhythm and establish a normal sleep-wake cycle. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Medline, Premedline and EBM Reviews were searched for articles on melatonin treatment of sleep-wake cycle disorders in children. Additionally, sleep was registered systematically in 15 developmentally or neurologically disabled children treated with melatonin. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: The search identified 75 articles of which 33 included neurologically or developmentally disabled children. Reported results generally indicate that melatonin improves sleep-wake cycle disorders in these children. However, the majority of studies were open, and knowledge about side effects and long-term effects is limited. Our own experience is in accordance with the literature; melatonin had positive effects in 13 children. Suggestions for practical use of melatonin in disabled children are presented.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1984

Anticipatory imagery ability in normal and language-disabled children.

The literature on cognitive functioning of language-disabled children suggests that they exhibit specific disabilities in nonlinguistic as well as linguistic domains. These disabilities have been hypothesized to be related to deficits in cognitive representational ability. Anticipatory imagery and spatial representation have been reported as two nonlinguistic representational areas in which language-disordered children are deficient. The present study compared normal and language-disabled children on spatial representation tasks involving anticipatory imagery. Five spatial tasks were administered to two groups of 7 1/2-9 1/2-year-old children matched on sex, age, native language, and racial background. One group included 18 language-disabled children and the other group 18 children with normal language development. The language-disabled were less accurate than the normal children on all tasks which involved anticipation or prediction of mental rotations, movements, or other transformations. The results of this study suggest difficulty with dynamic cognitive representation in the linguistic and nonlinguistic deficits demonstrated by language-disabled children.

Child↗

PubMed1999

The nutritional status of disabled children in Nigeria: a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the nutritional status of disabled children in Nigeria with their non-disabled siblings and neighbours. A second aim was to investigate anthropometric techniques appropriate for disabled children in this situation. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Nasarawa and Plateau States and the Federal Capital Territory in Central Nigeria. SUBJECTS: 311 children under 10 years of age were studied: 112 with various disabilities, 87 siblings and 112 neighbours. METHODS: Selected anthropometric measurements, (height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), demispan and halfspan), and blood haemoglobin levels were assessed by trained personnel. All measurements of disabled subjects were compared to the non-disabled controls. RESULTS: The disabled subjects had mean height for age (ht/age) and weight for age (wt/age) significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). These differences were due largely to the very low Z scores in children with neurological impairments, (ht/age= 3.07 (s.d.=1.6); wt/age= 2.0 (s.d.=1.2)). Measurement difficulties contributed to low height values in disabled children and halfspan was found to be a useful proxy for height in these children. MUAC results were higher for the children with disabilities due to polio than for controls. The mean haemoglobin levels were slightly but significantly higher (P<0.05) in the disabled and sibling groups compared to the neighbourhood group. CONCLUSION: Disabled children with neurological impairments and consequent feeding difficulties are nutritionally at risk, but others are no worse off than their non-disabled peers in this area. Halfspans may serve as a useful proxy indicator for estimating height in some children with physical impairments. SPONSORSHIP: The study was funded by a TEAR fund grant to JT for her MSc studies.

Anthropometry↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dental service utilization of disabled children.

This study examines factors influencing the use of dental services by disabled children. A total of 322 disabled children, aged 6 to 18 years, attending nine special schools were randomly selected for a clinical examination. Their parents or guardians were interviewed to determine the child's pattern of dental service use, parental perception of the child's dental needs, and special problems encountered with seeking care. It was found that 68.3% of the children had never visited a dentist within the previous year. The most common reason given for no care was an assumption that "nothing was wrong." The results indicated a low rate of dental service use among the disabled children. A lack of parental dental awareness appeared to be a major contributory factor.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Psychosocial functioning of learning-disabled children: replicability of statistically derived subtypes.

The PIC scores of 132 learning-disabled children between the ages of 6 and 12 years were investigated using Q-factor analysis, four hierarchical-agglomerative clustering techniques, and one iterative partitioning clustering technique. Results revealed excellent correspondence between the subtypes derived by all grouping methods in terms of both misclassifications and mean PIC profile similarity of the subtypes across techniques. The mean PIC profile of one subtype indicated normal psychosocial adjustment; a second subtype exhibited evidence of significant internalized psychopathology; a third subtype had a mean PIC profile suggestive of externalized psychosocial maladjustment. These subtypes were virtually identical to three subtypes reported by Porter and Rourke (1985) in another study of learning-disabled children. The results indicate that learning-disabled children comprise a heterogeneous population in terms of psychosocial functioning and that subtypes of learning-disabled children with similar patterns of socioemotional adjustment can be recovered reliably from this population across samples and statistical grouping techniques.

Child↗

PubMed2006

Key worker services for disabled children: what characteristics of services lead to better outcomes for children and families?

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that families of disabled children who have a key worker benefit from this service and recent policy initiatives emphasize the importance of such services. However, research is lacking on which characteristics of key worker schemes for disabled children are related to better outcomes for families. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was completed by 189 parents with disabled children who were receiving a service in seven key worker schemes in England and Wales. Path analysis was used to investigate associations between characteristics of the services and outcomes for families (satisfaction with the service, impact of key worker on quality of life, parent unmet need, child unmet need). RESULTS: The four path models showed that key workers carrying out more aspects of the key worker role, appropriate amounts of contact with key workers, regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers, and having a dedicated service manager and a clear job description for key workers were associated with better outcomes for families. Characteristics of services had only a small impact on child unmet need, suggesting that other aspects of services were affecting child unmet need. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including the need for regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers and negotiated time and resources for them to carry out the role. These influence the extent to which key workers carry out all aspects of the key worker's role and their amount of contact with families, which in turn impact on outcomes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Orthodontic treatment for disabled children--a survey of patient and appliance management.

The objective of this article was to investigate the management problems encountered during the orthodontic treatment of children with disability, and took the form of a retrospective analysis. The investigation took place at the Center for the Treatment of Cranio-facial Disorders, Department of Orthodontics, Hebrew University Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel, between years 1989 and 1997. The subjects were the 37 children with mental and/or physical disability whose orthodontic treatment was either completed or nearly completed, whose parents were given a questionnaire. Thirty-five patients responded with a mean age of 13 years (range 7-21 years), representing 94.6 per cent of the sample. Most of the patients (94.3 per cent) were able to conclude the orthodontic treatment and 91.4 per cent of the parents reported that the added responsibilities were either negligible or bearable. In 63 per cent of the children, compliance increased during the treatment as anxiety decreased. The problems encountered with fixed appliances were generally more severe than with removable appliances. The two major obstacles were attendance at frequent and regular intervals (37.1 per cent) and maintaining an appropriate level of oral hygiene (37.1 per cent). Children with a disability are able and willing to undergo orthodontic treatment. Recommendations intended to facilitate management are presented.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Energy and nutrient intakes of disabled children: do feeding problems make a difference?

We examined the effect of feeding problems and alternative feeding practices on the energy and nutrient intakes of disabled children. Subjects were 221 disabled children aged 1 to 16 years from seven diagnostic groups: a 4-day food record was obtained for 166 children. The children's energy and nutrient intakes were examined in relation to the presence or absence of four feeding problems (gross motor/self-feeding impairment, oral-motor dysfunction, lack of appetite, food aversions) and two alternate feeding practices (prolonged assisted feeding and use of pureed foods). Cross-sectional analyses showed that children with feeding problems or alternative feeding practices had lower energy and nutrient intakes than did children without these factors. The presence of oral-motor dysfunction or prolonged assisted feeding significantly reduced relative energy intake. In general, differences in energy and nutrient intakes between children with and without other feeding problems or practices were small, and few statistically significant differences were found. The findings indicate that some feeding problems may reduce food intake in disabled children, although this effect is lessened by the conscientious efforts of parents. Parents and families of disabled children should receive dietary counseling to prevent deteriorative effects on the physical growth and health of children with long-standing feeding problems.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Dental health of disabled children in Singapore.

The oral health status of the disabled has generally been poorer than the general population as the treatment and care afforded to them has been minimal. This paper examines the relationship of the various types of disabilities to dental health status. The dental status of a random sample of 322 disabled children aged between 6 and 18 years was assessed. The children had various disabilities: intellectual, hearing, visual, and musculo-skeletal. Most differences in the prevalence and severity of the dental conditions assessed among the children in the various disability groups were not significant. However, in comparison with normal schoolchildren aged 6 to 18, the disabled children had higher levels of disease and received less dental attention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1980

Validating optimal response modes of learning disabled children.

To determine optimal and least effective response modes of learning disabled children, the procedure described by Owen, Braggio, and Ellen (1976) and the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities were used. On the basis of pretest and posttest comparisons on selected subtests, the performance of these children could be described as individual or multiple combinations of covert-, vocal-, or visual/manual-response modes. This learning style analysis was validated by presenting a paired-associate task to the children using an administration similar to (matched condition) or different from (unmatched condition) the child's optimal response mode. More items were recalled under the matched condition than under the unmatched condition. Also, the children with multiple response modes recalled more items than the learning disabled children with single optimal response modes. These results suggest that disabled children may do poorly on academic tasks because they may not have enough optimal response modes, or are unable to select the most appropriate mode of responding as required by a task. The use of optimal response modes as an aid in the diagnosis and remediation of educational handicaps is discussed.

Child↗

PubMed1991

Feeding problems, height and weight in different groups of disabled children.

Two hundred and twenty-one disabled children from seven diagnostic groups have been examined with respect to height, weight and prevalence of four different feeding problems. Retarded growth and feeding problems were common in children with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, congenital heart disease and deaf-blindness, but rare in children with esophagus atresia, cystic fibrosis and epilepsy. Mean relative height and weight were significantly lower (p much less than 0.01) in children with mechanical feeding problems, such as impairment of self-feeding skills and oral-motor dysfunction, than in children without these problems, regardless of diagnostic group. Mean relative weight was also significantly lower in children with poor appetite than in children with good appetite. Feeding problems contribute to short stature and underweight in severely disabled children.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Therapeutic and prophylactic care of disabled children under conditions of a pediatric outpatient clinic].

The volume and type of treatment and prophylactic care rendered on an outpatient basis to children during a year is assessed based on a sampling from files of 2083 disabled children living in a large industrial city Ufa. In contrast to the entire population of children, each disabled child receives more visits from doctors at home and visits the health center more often. The majority of visits to the health center are for treatment and diagnosis and for consultations. Local doctors are visited mainly for prevention. The activity of local nurses responsible for follow-up of disabled children is low.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Hypouricemia in severely disabled children II: influence of elemental enteral nutrition on the serum uric acid levels.

The previous study showed that both valproic acid (VPA) and a bedridden state decreased the serum uric acid level, and VPA-induced renal tubular dysfunction was suspected to be one cause of hypouricemia in severely disabled children. However, it was uncertain what factor of bedridden state influences the uric acid level in severely disabled children. Among many factors of a bedridden state that might influence the uric acid level, we examined the influence of elemental nutrition on the serum uric acid level in severely disabled children because many severely disabled children with marked hypouricemia receive elemental nutrition. Thirty-one severely disabled children were included in this study, who were divided into two groups-group A: 11 patients with elemental nutrition; group B: 20 patients with non-elemental nutrition. The laboratory data in both groups were analyzed statistically, using the t-test. The uric acid level was significantly decreased in group A compared with group B (p < 0.01) without elevation of urinary excretion of uric acid. Other laboratory data, except phosphate and potassium, did not differ between the two groups significantly. An elemental diet may be one factor that decreases the uric acid level in severely disabled children.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The abuse of disabled children: a review of the literature.

Literature concerning the abuse of disabled children is examined with a view to elucidating why it is that this problem has not received full attention from professionals to date. Two contributing factors emerge: the limits of studies that have been conducted and the failure of society to address the needs of disabled children. It is concluded that disabled children are at increased risk of abuse, and that new policy and research initiatives are required in this area.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Serum leptin in disabled and non-disabled children in an Indian slum population.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the concentration of serum leptin in a population of malnourished children and to compare the leptin levels of disabled and non-disabled children in this population. DESIGN: Case-control study. SUBJECTS: Eighty-one children, comprising 41 children with mixed disabilities and 40 non-disabled controls, were selected from 425 children involved in a case-control study assessing the nutritional status of children with disabilities in an Indian slum population. METHODS: Leptin was measured in the serum samples and was compared with anthropometry (weight-for-age Z-scores (WAZ), height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ), weight-for-height Z-scores (WHZ), body mass index (BMI), mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC), sub-scapular skinfold thickness and triceps skinfold thickness) and serum acute phase proteins. RESULTS: The children were very malnourished with WAZ=-2.07 (s.d. 1.15), HAZ=-2.15 (s.d. 1.85) and WHZ=-1.07 (s.d. 0.83). Leptin was extremely low in both the disabled (1.44 ng/ml; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.23-1.69) and the non-disabled (1.19 ng/ml; 95% CI 1.04-1.35) children. There were no differences between the disabled and non-disabled groups as a whole but 15 children with neurological disabilities had significantly higher (P<0.05) serum leptin (1.65 ng/ml; 95% CI 1.29-2.06) than the non-disabled children. Girls (1.55 ng/ml; 95% CI 1.29-1.87) had significantly higher concentrations of leptin than boys (1.11 ng/ml; 95% CI 1.02-1.22; P=0.002). Leptin did not correlate with any biochemical or anthropometric measures. CONCLUSIONS: In this population, where malnutrition was common, serum leptin levels were very low and did not correlate with anthropometry. SPONSORSHIP: UK Department for International Development; Virgin Airways through the Great Ormond Street Hospital Trustees.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗