Minor Physical Anomalies in Exceptional Children

Abstract

Increasing attention is being paid to biological causes of learning disabilities, and many studies have been mode associating minor physical anomalies (MPAs) with disease, hyperkinesis in boys, and hypokinesis in girls. In an examination of 1,046 children, low-income children had more MPAs than those from middle-income, while middle income children with behavior disorders had as many MPAs as low-income pupils. Learning disabilities and emotional illness were associated with increasing MPAs. Nutrition, pollution, and disease may play a larger role in the etiology of learning disabilities than has been fashionable to assume. A high count of MPAs should suggest the involvement of subclinical disease in any learning disability.

Minor physical anomalies in autism: a meta-analysis

“…[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63] Despite this finding, a high degree of variability in the magnitude of the effect size magnitude was observed among these seven studies. In order to identify potential factors that could be responsible for constraining this variation, we performed regression analyses.…”

“…54,55 Two final studies were excluded because of the absence of relevant data in the published articles and no response from the investigators. 56,57 In the end, a total of seven studies, published between 1975 and 2005, met our inclusion criteria and contributed to the meta-analysis.…”

Hand preference and developmental instability

“…First, we examined associations between handedness and minor physical anomalies (MPAs). These features, first documented by Down (1866), are minor abnormalities due to deviations in early fetal development, as evidenced by their prevalence in a variety of disordered populations, such as Down's Syndrome children (Down, 1866), schizophrenics (Gualtieri, Adams, Shen, & Loiselle, 1982), autistics (Campbell, Geller, Small, Petti, & Perris, 1978;Gualtieri et al, 1982;Steg & Rapoport, 1975), hyperactive children (Gualtieri et at., 1982;Quinn & Rapoport, 1974;Rapoport & Quinn, 1975;Waldrop & Halverson, 1971), dyslexics (Cummings, Flynn, & Preus, 1982;Steg & Rapoport, 1975;Von Hilsheimer & Kurko, 1979), and children with behavior problems (Halverson & Victor, 1976). The most popular assessment of MPAs, which was developed and standardized by Waldrop and Halverson (1971;Waldrop, Halverson, & Shetterly, 1989), involves examination of 18 selected features of the head, hands, and feet.…”

Predicting adult temperament from minor physical anomalies.

“…Some research has implicated genetic determinants of the link between MPAs and temperament (Firestone et al, 1976(Firestone et al, , 1978. Other research supports a congenital explanation (Blackard & Tennes, 1981;Rapoport, Quinn, & Lamprecht, 1974;Von Hilsheimer & Kurko, 1979). One fact supporting the congenital view is that only the overall count of MPAs, not any individual anomaly, is predictive of personality.…”