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Learning disabilities in a population‐based group of children with hydrocephalus
Author(s) -
Lindquist Barbro,
Carlsson Göran,
Persson EvaKarin,
Uvebrant Paul
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2005.tb02005.x
Subject(s) - intelligence quotient , hydrocephalus , medicine , cerebral palsy , pediatrics , wechsler adult intelligence scale , population , cognition , epilepsy , wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence , wechsler intelligence scale for children , psychiatry , environmental health
Aim: To assess cognitive functions in a population‐based group of children with hydrocephalus and to analyse differences between children with and without myelomeningocoele (MMC); with hydrocephalus already present at birth and those who developed it later; children born at full term and those born preterm. Methods: Of 103 children with hydrocephalus born in the western‐Swedish region in 1989–1993, 73 were assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales or the Griffith Developmental Scales. Results: One‐third of the children were normally gifted (IQ>85), another 30% had a low average IQ of 70–84 and 37% had learning disabilities with an IQ of <70. The median IQ was 75, verbal IQ 90 and performance IQ 76 ( p <0.001). An IQ of <70 was found in 19 of 45 (42%) children without MMC and in 8 of 28 (29%) of those with MMC. Children born preterm had a lower IQ of 68 than those born at full term with an IQ of 76, while children with hydrocephalus present at birth but without MMC had a lower IQ of 60 than the others with an IQ of 77. Children with cerebral palsy and/or epilepsy ( n =22) had a lower IQ of 66 than the IQ of 78 in those without these impairments ( p <0.01). Conclusion: Cognitive functions in children with hydrocephalus need to be carefully assessed before school age to ensure adequate support and education. Even the one‐third near normally gifted children with an IQ of 70–85 require special attention, due to the profile of relatively well‐preserved verbal functions but greatly impaired perceptual and non‐verbal abilities.