Minor neurological signs and perceptual-motor difficulties in prematurely born children
a Department of
Psychology and Special Needs, Institute of Education, University of
London, b Department of
Paediatrics and Neonatology, Hammersmith Hospital, London, c Department of Neonatology,
Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Correspondence to: Sheila Henderson, Department of Psychology and Special Needs, Institute of Education, London WC1H OAA.
Accepted 1 October 1996
AIM
To examine the spectrum of neurological
dysfunction and perceptual-motor difficulties at school age in a cohort
of prematurely born children, and the relation of these measures to
neonatal brain lesions, intelligence quotient, and behavioural adjustment.
METHOD
One hundred and eighty three children were
tested at the age of 6 years using Touwen's Examination of the Child
with Minor Neurological Dysfunction, the Movement Assessment Battery
for Children (Movement ABC), the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI), British Ability Scales, and Rutter Scales.
RESULTS
Twenty six children had definite cerebral
palsy and one was blind. Of the remaining 156, the proportions falling
below the 15th centile point were 31% on Touwen's Examination, 44%
on the Movement ABC, and 17% on the VMI. Forty two passed all three
tests. No child with a normal ultrasound scan developed cerebral palsy, whereas nearly all those with major lesions did. Minor lesions, however, were not generally predictive of later outcome. Correlations between the tests were generally low.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings stress the need to
assess neurological and perceptual motor functioning separately at
school age and to monitor relationships with other aspects of development.
© 1997 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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