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Neurological soft signs in mainstream pupils.
J M Fellick1, A P Thomson, J Sills
1Institute of Child Health, Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital NHS Trust, Eaton Road, Liverpool L12 2AP, UK. jfellick@liv.ac.uk
Archives of Disease in Childhood
|October 23, 2001
Summary
Neurological soft signs in children correlate with poorer cognition, coordination, and behavior. However, high soft sign scores do not reliably predict specific impairments in these areas.
Area of Science:
- Child neurology
- Developmental psychology
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
Background:
- Neurological soft signs (NSS) are subtle neurological abnormalities.
- Their relationship with cognitive, motor, and behavioral outcomes in typically developing children requires further investigation.
- Understanding these associations can aid in early identification of developmental challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between NSS and cognitive, motor, and behavioral measures in mainstream schoolchildren.
- To assess the predictive value of high NSS scores for identifying children with significant developmental problems.
Main Methods:
- 169 children (8-13 years) from mainstream schools were assessed.
- Participants included children with and without a history of meningococcal disease.
- Assessments comprised NSS, Movement ABC (motor skills), WISC-III (cognition), and Conners' Rating Scales (behavior).
Main Results:
- Children with NSS scores above the 90th percentile showed significantly worse performance in cognition, motor skills, and behavior.
- Mean IQ scores were 10.3 points lower, and behavior scores were significantly higher in children with excess NSS.
- High NSS scores had limited sensitivity (25-42%) in predicting specific impairments.
Conclusions:
- Elevated NSS scores in children are linked to poorer performance in cognitive, coordination, and behavioral domains.
- While NSS assessment is informative, it has limitations in accurately predicting specific impairments in children.
- Further research may explore refined NSS assessment tools for better predictive accuracy.