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At least 991 records · Page 55Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Alterations in the functional anatomy of reading induced by rehabilitation of an alexic patient.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to measure regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in a stroke patient with acquired phonologic alexia before and after therapy using the Auditory Discrimination in Depth (ADD) program. BACKGROUND: After rehabilitation of acquired language disorders, functional imaging can detect activity in brain structures that do not mediate language during normal conditions. However, the anatomic correlates of recovery or rehabilitation from acquired reading disorders are largely undescribed. METHODS: Cerebral SPECT scans were obtained before and after the intervention with Auditory Discrimination in Depth. The first and last activation tasks necessitated that the patient read nonwords during radionuclide uptake. Another (control) scan was acquired during performance of a nonlinguistic task shortly before the end of the ADD program. RESULTS: Before therapy, the right hemisphere was inactive during nonword reading relative to the nonlinguistic task. After treatment, nonword reading increased cerebral blood flow in the posterior right perisylvian cortices homologous to the dominant hemisphere areas engaged by reading. Brain activity also increased in Broca's area of both hemispheres. CONCLUSIONS: Dyslexia rehabilitation may facilitate right-hemisphere cortical networks in the reading process and increase engagement of phonologic articulatory motor representations in Broca's area.

Dyslexia↗
PubMed2003

Scores on test of gross motor development of children with dysphasia: a pilot study.

The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to assess the gross motor skill and trainability of children with dysphasia using the Test of Gross Motor Development. 27 children from 7 to 12 years (M=9.6 yr., SD=1.3) from four different classes in one special school participated. The gross motor skill scores of a sample of children with dysphasia, their trainability of the gross motor skills, and the intrarater reliability of the test were examined. Based on the videotaped performances the intrarater reliability was .93 to .97 for total scores, but lower for individual test items. Mean motor skill scores of these children with dysphasia were interpreted as 'poor' relative to those of the standardization and the reference group. The 8-wk. intervention showed statistically significant improvement from pre- to posttest values. Mean locomotor skills improved from 2.7 (SD=.4) to 2.8 (SD=.4), and the object control skills from 2.4 (SD=.7) to 2.8 (SD=.7). It appears these children with language disorders do not possess a similar basic gross motor level as their peers without language problems.

Child↗
PubMed1996

Language and pragmatic functions in school-age children on the autism spectrum.

This study examined group differences in language and pragmatic functions across sex-, age- and IQ-matched samples of Asperger syndrome (N = 22), high-functioning autism (N = 11), deficits in attention, motor control and perception (DAMP) (N = 11), and speech and language disorder (SLD) (N = 11) groups. The purpose was to explore possible differentiating features in the fields of vocabulary, comprehension and pragmatics and, in addition, to determine whether Asperger syndrome could be reliably separated from high-functioning autism on these variables. The findings suggest that Asperger syndrome may be associated with higher full-scale and verbal IQ than high-functioning autism; Asperger syndrome may not be associated with better pragmatic skills (as defined in this context) than high-functioning autism; language comprehension may not clearly separate Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism once the effects of very low IQ are partialled out; both DAMP and SLD can be distinctly separated from Asperger syndrome and autism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Validational data on the Warwick Symbolic Play Test.

This paper examines the validity of a recently developed test of symbolic play. The Warwick Symbolic Play Test (WSPT) was administered to 60 normal children, 30 girls and 30 boys aged 3-6 years. In addition the children's expressive and receptive language skills were assessed using the Renfrew Action Picture Test and the British Picture Vocabulary Scale respectively. Significant correlations were found between scores obtained on the play test and both language measures. Exploratory statistics indicated that, when age was taken into account, partial correlations between play and language remained moderate. Further analysis of the results also suggested that the relationship between play and language ability as measured by the tests was stronger for the younger children in the sample than for the older children. These results suggest that the WSPT may indeed be a useful assessment instrument, in conjunction with measures of functional play, for assessment of language ability, diagnosis and possible treatment of language disorders, especially for children under the developmental age of 5 years.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1993

[Huntington chorea in children].

BACKGROUND: The onset of Huntington's disease, a dominantly inherited degeneration of the basal ganglia, usually occurs in middle age; cases of childhood onset are rare. CASE REPORTS: Case 1. A boy from a family including several cases of Huntington's disease gradually developed behavior disorders from the age of 5 years. He had learning and language disorders at 7 years of age and at 11 years he suffered from generalized seizures and progressive rigidity. The disease led to dementia at 17 years and the patient died a few months later. CT scan showed diffuse cortical atrophy. Case 2. A girl aged 5 years, was first examined for gait disorders. At that time she had dystonia and spasticity. Rigidity gradually developed, and 2 months later several cases of Huntington's disease were identified in her father's family. Case 3. A boy developed gait disorders from the age of 5 years. He gradually developed dystonia, rigidity, learning disorders, and finally mental retardation. The CT scan showed cortical atrophy and atrophy of the caudate nucleus. His father and others members of the paternal family had Huntington's disease that appeared in the adulthood. CONCLUSION: The clinical manifestations of Huntington's disease in childhood are different from those seen in adults. Progressive alteration of mental development and dementia can occur. Diagnosis may be difficult except when a parent has the fully developed disease.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2002

Perception of human and nonhuman facial age by developmentally disabled children.

Human and nonhuman faces were shown to clinical controls, autistic, mentally retarded, and language-disordered children to assess their ability to detect and draw inferences about facial age. Children were asked to select from sets of three faces the one that appeared youthful or to select faces that would be associated with some age-related characteristic. In two studies, it was found that, relative to other children, autistic children had more difficulty perceiving youthfulness in nonhuman faces compared with human faces. These data are discussed with respect to differences in mechanisms and processes that may underlie facial information processing in autistic and nonautistic children.

Aging↗
PubMed2003

Language abilities of siblings of children with autism.

BACKGROUND: Language abilities of siblings of children with autism were examined to explore the possibility that language abilities are behavioral markers specific to the genetic liability for autism, as part of the broader phenotype. METHOD: Language abilities were compared among 27 siblings of children with autism, 23 siblings of children with mental retardation of unknown etiology (MR), and 22 siblings of children with developmental language disorders (DLD). Groups were matched by siblings' age, gender, birth order, family size, ethnicity, family income and by probands' gender and mental age. RESULTS: Siblings of children with autism achieved higher scores than siblings of children with DLD on receptive, expressive, and total language scales of the Children's Evaluation of Language Fundamentals and on verbal IQ. Moreover, within the DLD group, school problems in the domains of reading and arithmetic were more prevalent than within the other two groups. Only 2 siblings of children with autism received clinical diagnoses based on DSM-IV criteria compared to 3 siblings of children with MR and 7 siblings of children with DLD. CONCLUSIONS: After excluding data of the diagnosed siblings, no differences in language abilities could be discerned among the groups, except that more siblings in the DLD group were identified as having language difficulties. In summary, although language deficits characterize autism, siblings of children with autism were not found to demonstrate deficits in language skills assessed by formal language tests, IQ, or academic skills.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Relation of global ratings of functioning with behaviour and development in delayed and disturbed preschoolers.

Ratings on the Global Assessment Scale for Children (GASC) were assessed in relation to a battery of objective developmental and behavioural measures. Children aged three to six years (N = 55) attending a day treatment program for developmental delays, language disorders, and behavioural and emotional problems comprised the sample. A battery of tests was administered to the children. Parents and teachers completed standardized questionnaires to measure developmental, behavioural and emotional problems. The results indicated that the GASC score correlated significantly with child developmental level, impulse control, and with teacher ratings of social withdrawal. The GASC was unrelated to ratings of behavioural problems. Ratings on the GASC also were highly consistent over time. These results are discussed with respect to the strengths and limitations of using global ratings with preschool children.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed2000

Paroxysmal tonic upgaze: physiopathological considerations in three additional cases.

Paroxysmal tonic upgaze of childhood has been described as a benign distinctive syndrome of abnormal ocular movement, with or without concomitant ataxia. After the first observation of four children, a further 29 patients have been reported with a wide spectrum of neurologic abnormalities such as ataxia, unsteady of gait, learning disabilities and mental retardation at follow-up. Electroencephalograms were normal in all the subjects and magnetic resonance imaging showed deficient myelination in only one patient. Recently it has been suggested that paroxysmal tonic upgaze could be a heterogeneous syndrome, ranging from a simply age-dependent manifestation to a clinical appearance of a variety of disorders affecting the corticomesencephalic loop of vertical eye movement. Moreover, it also could be an early sign of more widespread neurologic dysfunction. We describe three patients who presented paroxysmal tonic upgaze; in one, ataxia was present; in the second child, ataxia and language disorder also were observed; and in the third patient paroxysmal tonic upgaze was associated with loss of muscle tone (drop-attack-like events). On magnetic resonance imaging, a pinealoma compressing the dorsal mesencephalic region was detected. On the basis of our observations, we suggest that any insult with periaqueductal mesencephalic gray-matter involvement could be considered the basic condition for this peculiar clinical manifestation.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1993

A developmental deficit in short-term phonological memory: implications for language and reading.

QU, an eight-year-old boy, was identified from a large scale normative study on the basis of his greatly reduced digit span, combined with normal long-term memory and non-verbal intelligence. Further investigation indicated that his visual STM was normal, but that he was clearly impaired on two verbal STM tests, nonword repetition, and memory span for words. His span showed clear effects of phonological similarity and word-length, suggesting qualitatively normal functioning of the phonological loop component of working memory, despite a quantitative impairment in level of performance. This pattern resembles that found in an earlier study of children with a specific language disorder. We tested QU on measures of vocabulary, syntax, and reading, and found him to be substantially below the age norms on all three. The implications of these findings are discussed for the role of the phonological loop in language development.

Auditory Perception↗
PubMed2005

[Non-verbal learning disorder. Clinical features to guide diagnosis].

AIMS: The development and multiplication of information about learning disorders leads to the need to systematise the knowledge available and to base it on the clinical data. DEVELOPMENT: Apart from trouble-free diagnoses, non-verbal learning disorders are characterised by their high comorbidity rate. They are associated to attention deficit with or without hyperactivity, motor coordination disorder, dyscalculia, problems with social development and also, to a certain extent, oral and written language disorders. Depending on countries, a child with a good fundamental intellectual capacity and good development of language, but motor clumsiness and low visuospatial skills with or without relational difficulties can be diagnosed in different ways. In this study, after briefly reviewing the literature on comorbidity and the contexts of the work, we propose a set of guidelines for basic examination that can be used in visits due to learning disorders, including suggestive history, areas that require detailed questioning, and central tests. CONCLUSIONS: Partly because of the comorbidity, following the introductory visit, only a multidisciplinary team can study a child with non-verbal learning disorder properly, using specific tests to pinpoint the profile of their difficulties; their strong points should also be stressed.

Learning Disabilities↗
PubMed2002

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: comorbidity and medication use.

Children evaluated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have other disorders resembling ADHD leading to inappropriate stimulant medication use. This study was completed to identify relationships between referral complaints of ADHD, behavior problems or learning problems and age, gender, final diagnosis, and medication use. One hundred eighty-nine children ages 2 to 15 years referred for evaluation of ADHD, behavior or learning problems were evaluated by an interdisciplinary team. Diagnoses of ADHD, specific learning disability (SLD), mental retardation (MR), developmental language disorders (LANG), and other behavior disorders (DIS) were established. Medication use pre- and post-evaluation was reviewed. Forty-three percent of all subjects had a final diagnosis of ADHD. Forty percent referred specifically for presumed ADHD did not have it. More children older than 5 years were diagnosed as having ADHD than those 5 years old or younger (p < 0.0001). More subjects 5 years old or younger were diagnosed as having LANG than those older than 5 years (p < 0.0001). Fewer subjects with a chief complaint of ADHD were diagnosed with MR than those with behavior or learning problems (p = 0.001). In subjects 5 years old or younger, 35% were diagnosed with MR and 49% with other DIS. In children older than 5 years, 41% were diagnosed with SLD. Ten percent of subjects without ADHD were using stimulants. Only 48% of subjects with confirmed ADHD took stimulants. Children presenting with behavior problems or those 5 years old or younger are at higher risk for MR, LANG, and DIS and less likely to have ADHD. Children presenting with learning problems or those older than 5 years are more likely to have SLD or ADHD. Multiple diagnoses were common for all ages and presentations. Ten percent of children without confirmed ADHD used stimulants before evaluation.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1989

[Mental disorders in severely dysfunctional and in well-functioning families].

The types of mental disorders and their prevalence in severely dysfunctional (SD) and well-functioning (WF) families were compared. SD families were characterized by chronic conflicts, absence of closeness and lack of trust between parents, and bad relations and lack of support between parents and their children. WF families were characterized by high levels of psychological intimacy, warm and satisfying relationships between parents and children, and a warm, affectionate, optimistic family mood. 23 SD families (44 parents and 60 children) and 61 WF families (121 parents and 184 children) were followed for over 4 years by the author of this study. There was a high prevalence of mental disorders in parents of SD families in comparison to the WF families (43.2% vs 6.6%). This excess was significantly less in men (p = 0.05), in whom the risk ratio was 3.3 (p = 0.03), while for women it was 10.2 (p less than 0.0001). Most prominent was the higher prevalence of chronic anxiety: 25% vs 5% with a risk ratio for men of 2.9 (p = 0.09), and for women 7.1 (p less than 0.0001). Among children as well, there was greater prevalence of psychiatric illness in SD families--56.6% vs 3.8%, risk ratio 14.9 (p less than 0.0001). The prevalence of developmental speech and language disorders in SD families was 33.2 times greater, of hyperkinetic syndrome 12.3 times, and of enuresis 7.2 times. In contrast to the parents, the overall rate of illness was not significantly different between the sexes. We feel that it is important to discover such families because treatment and intervention early in childhood may increase the effectiveness of treatment.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1996

Movement disorder in Down's syndrome: a possible marker of the severity of mental handicap.

This study examined the nature and prevalence of abnormal movements in adults with Down's syndrome and also the clinical correlates of orofacial dyskinesia and the relationship between dyskinesia and the level of functional and intellectual disability. Movement disorder, language age, and disability were assessed in an epidemiologically based sample of 145 individuals with Down's syndrome. Abnormal involuntary movements were common, with > 90% exhibiting dyskinesia, predominantly orofacial. Stereotypes were present in one-third of the sample. There was an association between the severity of dyskinesia and both current language age and functioning in terms of self-care and practical and academic skills, which suggested that dyskinesia may be a marker of the severity of mental handicap. The presence of dyskinesia was unrelated to neuroleptic exposure. Dyskinesia and stereotypies are very common in individuals with Down's syndrome and may represent an inherent manifestation of the disorder. The relationship between mental age and dyskinesia in Down's syndrome warrants further research.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

[Developmental dysphasia].

Developmental dysphasia is a specific, primary and lasting oral language disorder (expressive or comprehensive) is the absence of any sensorineural damage oral organ dystunction or psychiatric and psychologic disorders. Pathogensis is still unknown. Diagnosis is based on exprssive and comprehensive language investigation. Therapy should be early and multidisciplinary.

Aphasia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The linguistic skills of infants under the age of one year].

INTRODUCTION: It is amazing how all normal children, systematically exposed to a natural language, speak using well-formed sentences by the time they are about 3 years old. This is a universally observed fact that is made possible by a series of mechanisms which mostly remain unexplained. This article reviews a series of studies concerning the linguistic capabilities of infants aged up to twelve months, which were evaluated using both behavioural and neuroimaging methods. DEVELOPMENT: Learning a language means learning its sounds, its words and its grammatical rules. During the first year of life this learning is not very apparent, since it is essentially perceptive and seems to occur without the need to make an effort. Yet, acquiring one's native language is no trivial matter because speech does not offer any known physical evidence that systematically indicates the occurrence of sounds, words and/or grammatical rules. A human being starts to process speech just a few hours after birth; nevertheless, this early sensitivity is not enough to 'know' a particular language. In fact, during their early years, children will have to learn the properties that are relevant to their mother tongue, while at the same time ignoring those that are irrelevant. Processing language is accompanied by changes in brain activity which can be explored using safe neuroimaging methods, such as electroencephalogram recordings and optical topography. CONCLUSION: A deeper understanding of the cognitive and neural foundations of the early linguistic skills of children will make a significant contribution to dealing with both normal development and language disorders.

Cerebral Cortex↗
PubMed1992

Chronic illness and mental health problems in pediatric practice: results from a survey of primary care providers.

The prevalence of chronic physical illnesses and their association with mental disorders was assessed using data collected by primary care pediatricians. A chronic illness was diagnosed in 1573 (15.6%) of 10,058 children aged 4 to 16 years, 945 (9.4%) of whom had a "serious" disorder, 535 (5.3%) had a minor disorder (hay fever or dermatitis), and 121 (1.2%) had a speech or language disorder. Behavioral problems were identified more often among patients with "serious" disorders than among those without chronic illnesses (2.4% vs 1.7%), as were emotional problems (5.0% vs 3.1%). Among those with "serious" conditions involving the central nervous system, the prevalence of behavioral (5.2%) and emotional (10.4%) disorders was still higher. Although children with "serious" disorders not involving the central nervous system also showed elevated prevalence rates of behavioral (2.1%) and emotional (4.5%) disturbances, this increase did not reach statistical significance. No association with "minor" chronic disorders was found. The negative impact of these mental health problems on the child was more severe when a chronic illness was also present, but referrals for mental health services did not reflect his association.

Adolescent↗