Ten‐year Consistency in Neurological Test Performance of Children Without Focal Neurological Deficit

Abstract

SUMMARY To assess ‘soft‐sign’ persistence and its correlates outside a referred sample, 159 members of a local birth cohort of the United States National Collaborative Perinatal Project were traced and their performance on six neurological test scales was measured at age 17 by examiners blind to their status at age seven. A comparison group was also formed, who had been ‘sign’‐free at age seven. On four of the six tests (dysdiadochokinesis, mirror movements, dysgraphesthesia and motor slowness) index boys did significantly worse than the comparison boys; by contrast, index girls scored significantly worse than comparisons only on motor slowness. RÉSUMÉ Permanence sur dix ans des tests de performance neurologique chez des enfants sans signes neurologiques en foyer Pour apprécier la permanence des ‘signes frustes’ et sa corrélation avec un échantillon de référence, 159 membres d'un groupe local faisant partie de l'United States National Collaborative Perinatal Project ont été suivis et leurs performances à six échelles de tests neurologiques ont été mesurées à l'âge de 17 ans par des juges ignorants de leur état à l'âge de sept ans. Un groupe de comparaison a été constitué, sans aucun signe aberrant á l'âge de sept ans. Pour quatre des six tests (dysdiadococinésie, mouvements en miroir, dysgraphesthésie et lenteur motrice) les garçons du groupe expérimental eurent des résultats significativement moins bons que ceux du groupe de comparaison; en revanche, les performances du groupe expérimental des filles étaient inférieures au groupe de comparaison uniquement pour la lenteur motrice. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Gleichbleibende neurologische Testergebnisse bei Kindern ohne fokale neurologische Ausfälle Um die Persistenz neurologischer Minimalsymptome in einer willkürlich gebildeten Gruppe zu untersuchen, wurden 159 Patienten eines lokalen Geburtenkollektivs des United States National Collaborative Perinatal Project herausgezogen und im Alter von 17 Jahren auf ihre Leistungen bei sechs neurologischen Tests von Untersuchern bewertet, die ihren Leistungsstand im Alter von sieben Jahren nicht kannten. Außerdem wurde eine Vergleichsgruppe aus Kindern gebildet, die mit sieben Jahren unauffällig waren. Bei vier der sechs Tests (Diadochokinese, Spiegelbewegungen, Schreibschwäche und motorische Verlangsamung) waren die Jungen der Index‐Gruppe signifikant schlechter als die Jungen der Vergleichsgruppe; die Mädchen der Index‐Gruppe dagegen waren nur bei der motorischen Verlangsamung signifikant schlechter als die Kontrollen. RESUMEN Constancia de diez años en la realización de tests neurológicos en niños sin ningún déficit neurológico focal Para valorar la persistencia de ‘signos blandos’ y su correlación fuera de una muestra de referenda, 159 miembros de un grupo local de nacimientos del Proyecto Nacional Colaborativo Perinatal de los Estados Unidos fueron seguidos y su realizaciòn en seis escalas de tests neurológicos fueron medidas a la edad de 17 años, por examinadores ignorantes de su situación a los siete años de edad. Se formó tambi...

A Preliminary Investigation of Quality of Life Satisfaction Reports in Emerging Adults With and Without Developmental Coordination Disorder

“…Social isolation, decreased peer interaction, social immaturity, and the ability to establish peer relationships have all been observed in children and adolescents with DCD (Losse et al 1991;Smyth and Anderson 2000). Increased psychiatric issues relative to peers have also been reported, including substance abuse, suicidal tendencies, depression, anxiety, social negativism and withdrawal (Cantell et al 2003;Hellgren et al 1994;Shafer et al 1986). In conjunction with the diagnostic criteria, educational performance in adolescents has also been discovered to be lower when compared to peers (Hellgren et al 1994;Losse et al 1991).…”

Neurological soft signs in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…[12] NSS in young adults have been associated with a number of neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders, such as psychosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and also in conditions of atypical development, like autism and learning disability and ADHD. [13–15] Our review of literature failed to find Indian studies on this subject. Thus, the study was planned with the aim of studying neurological soft signs and risk factors (type, mode of delivery, and milestones) in children with ADHD and the correlation of soft signs to type and severity of ADHD and with the co-morbidity of specific learning disability.…”

Emerging Adulthood and Developmental Co-ordination Disorder

“…The psychiatric interviews used with adolescents with OeD have shown many psychiatric symptoms ranging from mood and anxiety disorders to social negativism and withdrawal (Hellgren et al, 1993;Shafer et al, 1986). Few studies have looked qualitatively at the outcomes for emerging adults (Cantell & Kooistra, 2002 Long term poor self concept may also be a risk factor for mental illness.…”

“…These include the definition and cut off points for including or excluding children into the groups being studied and the method of testing used in each study. Some studies have used a neurological screening process (Shafer et al, 1986) and others have used teacher or parent reporting of symptoms for inclusion into their studies (Losse et al, 1991).…”