N300 indexes deficient integration of orthographic and phonological representations in children with dyslexia

In transparent orthographies, like German, children with developmental dyslexia (DD) are mainly characterized by a reading fluency deficit. The reading fluency deficit might be traced back to a scarce integration of orthographic and phonological representations. In order to address this question, the present study used EEG to investigate the N300, an ERP component which has been associated with the integration of orthographic and phonological representations. Twenty children without DD and 18 children with DD performed a phonological (P)-orthographic (O) matching task (P-O condition), which tapped the integration of orthographic and phonological representations. A control task was applied which did not require the integration of orthographic and phonological representations and consisted only of orthographic information (O-O condition). The O-O condition revealed a similar N300 distribution between groups with a bilateral activity over fronto-temporal electrodes. However, in the P-O condition N300 differentiated the 2 groups of children. The control group revealed greater activity over left fronto-temporal electrodes, whereas the N300 was distributed bilaterally in the group of children with DD suggesting deficient integration of orthographic and phonological representations. These findings might be related to the reading fluency deficit as it was also observed that better reading fluency was correlated with higher (r=-.36) and earlier peaking (r=-.33) N300 amplitudes in the left hemisphere and attenuated N300 amplitudes (r=.45) in the right hemisphere. Standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography analysis (sLORETA) revealed that children with DD rely more on right temporo-parietal brain areas compared to children without DD. Furthermore, in order to rule out that earlier deficient processes might influence the group differences found in the N300, we analyzed the N170 for group differences. We did not find significant differences between children without DD and children with DD. In conclusion the results suggest deficient integration of orthographic and phonological representations in dyslexia, as indexed by the N300, and further highlight how this activity is relevant for fluent reading.     

Performance of young nonretarded children and children with Down syndrome on Piagetian infant search tasks

Two groups of 3- to 5-year-old children, a nonretarded and a Down syndrome group, were tested six times over 2.5 months on three Piagetian infant search tasks. Two opposing trends in performance over sessions were evident: Scores of children in the Down syndrome group increased significantly whereas the performance of nonretarded subjects declined. The data suggest that cognitive ability of children with Down syndrome may be poorly measured by single-session testing; also, that in the absence of normative data from nonretarded children, caution is necessary in evaluating the performance of children with mental retardation on tests designed for and validated on younger, nonretarded subjects.     

Toileting Problems in a Group of Children with Autism

33 out of 39 of the families who belonged to a support group (SWAPS) for parents of children with difficulties which lie in the autistic spectrum, completed a questionnaire about their children's toilet training and any associated problems. The children fell into three groups: untrained (12%), out of nappies for most of the day but needing prompting /on specific programmes (33%), and fully continent (55%). Problems specific to each group are discussed and effective preventative and management strategies reviewed. 27parents (82%) reported difficulties over toileting. Severity of learning difficulty appears to be the main variable which influences the degree of independence which can eventually be achieved. The particular problems presenting in some of the most able children are also addressed.     

Psychosocial outcomes in children two years after epilepsy surgery: Has anything changed?

PURPOSE: We prospectively explored psychosocial outcomes in children (7-18 years) 2 years after epilepsy surgery. This study built on our previous one that examined these children 1 year after surgery. METHODS: Twenty children were studied using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; a parent report instrument of potential behavioral and social problems) preoperatively, 1 year and 2 years after surgery. A comparison group of 12 children with medically refractory seizures was examined at comparable times. We conducted mixed factorial ANOVAs to determine group, time, and interaction effects, and regression analyses to assess factors driving significant (p 相似文献   

Autistic Children's Responses to Separation and Reunion with Their Mothers

Observed 16 autistic, 16 normal, and 16 Down syndrome children (ages 3–6 years during separation and reunion with their mother in a laboratory playroom over three sessions. Children's responses to separation and reunion were assigned to one of five behavioral patterns that were weighted for intensity or level of response. No differences were found between groups in their behavioral responses during separation or reunion. Moreover, children in each group altered their responses according to the environmental setting which was varied over the three sessions. However, the autistic and Down syndrome groups did differ from the normal group in their consistency of behavioral patterns over the three observation sessions; both the former groups showed more individual variation in their separation and reunion patterns indicating that the expression of these patterns may be influenced by their associated developmental delay.     

Predicting repeat self-harm in children

The main objective of the study was to find which variables predict repetition of deliberate self-harm in children. The study is based on a group of children who took part in a randomized control trial investigating the effects of a home-based family intervention for children who had deliberately poisoned themselves. These children had a range of baseline and outcome measures collected on two occasions (two and six months follow-up). Outcome data were collected from 149 (92 %) of the initial 162 children over the six months. Twenty-three children made a further deliberate self-harm attempt within the follow-up period. A number of variables at baseline were found to be significantly associated with repeat self-harm. Parental mental health and a history of previous attempts were the strongest predictors. A model of prediction of further deliberate self-harm combining these significant individual variables produced a high positive predictive value (86 %) but had low sensitivity (28 %). Predicting repeat self-harm in children is difficult, even with a comprehensive series of assessments over multiple time points, and we need to adapt services with this in mind. We propose a model of service provision which takes these findings into account. Accepted: 30 September 2002 Correspondence to Dr. P. Chitsabesan, MRCPsych     

Motor task persistence of children with and without mental retardation

Task persistence by 31 children with and without mental retardation during two challenging motor tasks was investigated. We used a 2 (group) x 2 (gender) MANOVA to analyze trials and seconds per trial. A main effect was found for group affiliation: Children without mental retardation attempted more trials over three sessions. No significant differences were found for seconds per trial, which indicated that all study participants experienced a comparable level of failure in regard to seconds completed before failure. Findings support the hypothesis that children with mental retardation are less persistent at challenging motor tasks than are peers without disabilities. These findings have both theoretical and practical implications.     

Spelling in oral deaf and hearing dyslexic children: A comparison of phonologically plausible errors

A written single word spelling to dictation test and a single word reading test were given to 68 severe-profoundly oral deaf 10–11-year-old children and 20 hearing children with a diagnosis of dyslexia. The literacy scores of the deaf children and the hearing children with dyslexia were lower than expected for children of their age and did not differ from each other. Three quarters of the spelling errors of hearing children with dyslexia compared with just over half the errors of the oral deaf group were phonologically plausible. Expressive vocabulary and speech intelligibility predicted the percentage of phonologically plausible errors in the deaf group only. Implications of findings for the phonological decoding self–teaching model and for supporting literacy development are discussed.     

School-based interventions for anxious children

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of three school-based interventions for anxious children: group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for children, group CBT for children plus parent training group, and no-treatment control. METHOD: Students (7-11 years old) in three elementary schools (N = 453) were screened using the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children and teacher nomination. Subsequently, 101 identified children and their parents completed the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV, Child Version. Children with features or DSM-IV diagnoses of separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and/or social phobia (n = 61) were randomized by school to one of three conditions. Active treatments were nine weekly sessions of either group CBT or group CBT plus concurrent parent training. RESULTS: Clinician-report, child-report, and parent-report measures of child anxiety demonstrated significant benefits of CBT treatments over the no-treatment control group. Effect size was 0.58 for change in composite clinician severity rating, the primary outcome measure, favoring collapsed CBT conditions compared with control. In addition, several instruments showed significantly greater improvement in child anxiety for group CBT plus parent training over group CBT alone. CONCLUSIONS: Both active CBT treatments were more effective than the no-treatment control condition in decreasing child anxiety symptoms and associated impairment. When parent training was combined with child group CBT, there were some additional benefits for the children.     

Child-parent relationships in the care of epileptic children

We investigated the attitudes of parents toward their epileptic children with the "Taken" diagnostic test for child-parent relationships. Included were 70 epileptic children, 31 boys and 39 girls, and their parents, 16 fathers and 59 mothers. Patients were divided into group A, 35 children without neurologic complications other than seizures, and group B, 35 children with complications. The results were evaluated by comparing with the normal standard revised by Akasaka et al. The parents of group A and the fathers of group B showed rejection toward their children. The mothers of group B showed attitudes of dotage and anxiety, especially when their children were over 12 years of age and the seizures were not controlled. Our observations suggest that mental health care for the parents of epileptic children is necessary to decrease the psychological conflicts and to prevent untoward effects on their offspring.     

Hemisphere functioning in autistic children.

Recent research in childhood autism has provided support for the hypothesis that a central cognitive deficit involving severe language impairment underlies this disorder. In this study a group of autistic children were tested for handedness and for lateralization of speech function using a dichotic listening task. Contrary to earlier reports there were no left-handed children in the group although a number showed mixed preference. In the dischotic listening task using pairs of single syllable words the autistic group performed similarly to a matched group of normal children in terms of numbers of correct responses but over all did not show the right ear advantage characteristic of the normal children. There was a significant excess of right hemisphere dominance for verbal stimuli amongst the autistic children suggesting that for some at least, language functions had developed in the right hemisphere. Lateralization was shown to be related to presence or absence of speech before the age of 5 years and to IQ level.     

Risperidone in preschool children with autistic spectrum disorders: an investigation of safety and efficacy

INTRODUCTION: Early intervention in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) appears promising and may represent a window of opportunity for more effective treatment. Whereas the safety and efficacy of risperidone have been established for children aged 5 and older, they has not been adequately tested in preschool children. METHODS: A randomized placebo-controlled study of risperidone in preschool children was conducted in a sample of young children, most of whom were also undergoing intensive behavioral treatment. RESULTS: Preschool children tolerated low-dose risperidone well with no serious adverse effects observed over a 6-month treatment period. Weight gain and hypersalivation were the most common side effects reported, and hyperprolactinemia without lactation or related signs was observed. Significant differences between groups found at baseline complicated the analyses; however, controlling for some of these differences revealed that preschoolers on risperidone demonstrated greater improvements in autism severity. The change in autism severity scores from baseline to 6-month follow up for the risperidone group was 8% compared to 3% for the placebo group. Notably, both groups significantly improved over the 6-month treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings suggest that risperidone is well tolerated in preschoolers over a 6-month period, but that only minimally greater improvement in target symptoms was evident in the risperidone group, possibly due to the differences between groups at baseline or due to the small sample size. Although these findings are not sufficient to direct treatment, they suggest that larger-scale, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigations of risperidone in preschoolers with ASDs should now be conducted.     

EMDR treatment for children with PTSD: results of a randomized controlled trial

The objective of the study was to examine the efficacy of EMDR treatment for children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with untreated children in a waiting list control group (WLC) participating in a randomized controlled superiority trial (RCT). Thirty-three 6-16-year-old children with a DSM-IV diagnosis of PTSD were randomly assigned to eight weekly EMDR sessions or the WLC group. The Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Scale for Children (PTSS-C scale) was used in interviews with children to evaluate their symptoms and outcome. Post-treatment scores of the EMDR group were significantly lower than the WLC indicating improvement in total PTSS-C scores, PTSD-related symptom scale, and the subscales re-experiencing and avoidance among subjects in the EMDR group, while untreated children improved in PTSD-non-related symptom scale. The improvement in re-experiencing symptoms proved to be the most significant between-group difference over time. The results of the present exploratory study including a limited number of children with PTSD are encouraging and warrant further controlled studies of larger samples of children suffering from PTSD.     

Cognitive, psychosocial, and family function one year after pediatric epilepsy surgery

PURPOSE: Assumptions regarding the benefits of seizure control after pediatric epilepsy surgery for cognitive, psychosocial, and family function were explored in a prospective study of 51 children with intractable epilepsy. METHODS: Thirty children who underwent surgery were studied before and 1 year after surgery, and a comparison group of 21 children with medically refractory seizures was examined at comparable times. RESULTS: One year after surgery, 57% of the surgical group was seizure free. Seizure status after surgery did not predict change over time in any of the areas measured. Cognitive and psychosocial status did not change over time in either group, and the strongest predictor of individual change in psychosocial status in the surgical group was baseline level of function. Within the surgical group, a trend toward an increase in independence promotion was noted in the family, but the children's satisfaction with the family declined. CONCLUSIONS: These findings challenge the assumption that elimination of seizures will result in improved cognitive, psychosocial, and family functioning, at least within the first year after surgery.     

The Effects of PECS Teaching to Phase III on the Communicative Interactions between Children with Autism and their Teachers

The study investigated the impact of mastery of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to Phase III, on the communications of children with autism. Children aged between 3 and 7 years, formed a PECS intervention group and a non-intervention control group. The intervention group received 15 h of PECS teaching over 5 weeks. Three 2-h classroom observations recorded communications between the children and their teachers. These occurred: 6 weeks before teaching; during the week immediately prior to teaching; during the week immediately following teaching. For the control group, two 2-h observations were separated by a 5-week interval without PECS teaching. Communicative initiations and dyadic interactions increased significantly between the children and teachers in the PECS group but not for the control group.     

The Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder (Hyperkinesis) in Children

Thirty hyperkinetic children were selected on the basis of (1) a clinical diagnosis using the DSM-III criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperkinesis; (2) having remained in treatment for at least six months and having been seen at least three times by a child psychiatrist, with the diagnosis maintained over that time; and (3) a maternal score greater than 18 on the Conners Abbreviated Parent-Teacher Rating Scale for Hyperkinesis on the initial day of testing. The children were tested on that day with the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and the Draw-a-Line Slowly Test (DALS) for impulsivity. Age- and sex-normalized data from 15 of the hyperkinetic children and 83 normal school children of similar age selected on the basis of teacher ratings of less than 15 on the Conners Parent-Teacher Rating Scale were subjected to a discriminant function analysis. The stability of the discriminant function obtained, which contained the Continuous Performance Test, Errors of Commission (CPTC), Errors of Omission (CPTO), Mean Reaction Time (MRT), and DALS, was tested on the second group of 15 hyperkinetic children. Of the 15 hyperkinetic children, 9 were correctly classified, as were 99% of the normal school group (p < 0.001).     

Between psychiatry and youth welfare--help and support for children of mentally ill parents in the tension field of the disciplines

A mental illness of parents brings up a high burden for the affected children. The professionals working in psychiatry and social work are getting a rising knowledge of the specific problems these children have. Anyway, there are only a few useful treatments offered for this group of people. There are a lot of reasons for this lag in take care of. It's not only based on the financial situation or the personnel structure which must be mentioned as reasons for children of parents with mental illness for not asking for help. It's also the incomplete knowledge of the caregivers. But first of all the writer wants to show that the tension in this working field brings up the main problems. For solving these problems the article gives some advice for crossing over the borderlines and build up a communication between the institutions which are involved.     

Socio-economic position, household composition, health status and indicators of the well-being of mothers of children with and without intellectual disabilities

Background Many previous studies have reported that mothers of children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are more likely to show signs of psychological distress and have lower well‐being than mothers of ‘typically developing’ children. Our aim was to estimate the extent to which these differences may be accounted for by between‐group differences in socio‐economic position. Methods This study involved secondary analysis of happiness, self‐esteem and self‐efficacy variables in a nationally representative sample of 6954 British mothers with dependent children under the age of 17 years, 514 of whom were supporting a child with an ID. Results Mothers of children with IDs reported lower levels of happiness, self‐esteem and self‐efficacy than mothers of children without IDs. Statistically controlling for differences in socio‐economic position, household composition and maternal characteristics fully accounted for the between‐group differences in maternal happiness, and accounted for over 50% of the elevated risk for poorer self‐esteem and self‐efficacy. Conclusions A socially and statistically significant proportion of the increased risk of poorer well‐being among mothers of children with IDs may be attributed to their increased risk of socio‐economic disadvantage.     

Results of the treatment of children with brain neoplasms. I. Survival of children and cause of death

In a group of 146 children aged from 8 months to 16 years treated for brain neoplasms the authors analysed the therapeutic results. Excluding the so called operative losses the survival over 4 years was obtained in one-fourth of patients with medulloblastoma, in over one-third of those with ependymoma, one-half of astrocytoma cases, and over one-third of children with other neoplasms. The authors estimate positively the therapeutic methods used (operation, radiotherapy and chemotherapy by Bloom's schedule) and see the possibility of increasing the survival rate by improvement in the diagnosis of brain tumours in children and by optimalization of treatment, especially in its early period, for reducing the number of operative losses.