This study examines major comorbidities in children with severe cerebral palsy and the feasibility of psychological tests for measuring abilities in a more impaired population. Eighty psychological evaluations of children with cerebral palsy aged 1.8 to 15.4 years (mean = 5.6) were analyzed. Major comorbid disorders were correlated with severity of motor disability. More than half of the cohort were diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System. Multiple subtests were combined in order to assess the intellectual level. Normal intelligence was found in 22.5%, and 41.3% had moderate or severe intellectual impairment. Epilepsy occurred in 32.5% and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 22.5%. Intellectual disability correlated with motor ability and with epilepsy. In a logistic regression model, epilepsy and motor ability score predicted 29.9% of IQ score variance. Intellectual impairment and epilepsy are common comorbidities. Subtests from different scales should be applied and interpreted with caution.
We describe a survey of children with ASD aged 4-10 years. The main dependent variables were out-of-pocket expenditures for health services and hours of therapy. Multivariable logistic regression models were used in order to find independent predictors for service utilization. Parents of 178 of the children (87 %) agreed to participate. The average annual out-of-pocket cost was $8,288, with a median of $4,473 and a range of $0-89,754. Higher severity of ASD and a parent with an academic degree were associated with higher expenditure. Having at least one older sibling, siblings without developmental disorders, regular education setting, lower parent education and low income were associated with lower expenditure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.