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Evaluation of the intellectual skill problems of hydrocephalic children: a clinical study
Emel Erdoğan Bakar1, Bülent Bakar, Yasemen Işik Taner
1Ufuk University, Psychology, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Hydrocephalic children exhibit greater intellectual and attention deficits than children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These challenges in hydrocephalus impact visuospatial skills and overall academic achievement.
Area of Science:
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Pediatric neurology
- Child psychology
Background:
- Hydrocephalus and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are distinct neurodevelopmental conditions.
- Understanding cognitive profiles is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine intellectual skill deficits and attention problems in hydrocephalic children.
- To compare these difficulties with those in children diagnosed with ADHD.
Main Methods:
- The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) was administered to three groups: healthy children, hydrocephalic children, and children with ADHD.
- Statistical analysis employed Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and logistic regression.
Main Results:
- Hydrocephalic children performed significantly worse than both ADHD and control groups across all WISC-R tests.
- Children with ADHD showed comparable performance to controls, except in specific subtests like arithmetic and coding.
Conclusions:
- ADHD is associated with greater difficulties in encoding, focused/executive, and sustained attention compared to visual attention.
- Hydrocephalic children face significant challenges in visuospatial perception, organization, and attention, potentially leading to adaptive difficulties.
Aim:
This study is planned to determine the intellectual skill difficulties and attention problems of hydrocephalic children, and to compare them to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Material And Methods:
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) test was applied to healthy children (control group), hydrocephalic children (hydrocephalus group) and children with ADHD (ADHD group); and the test results were statistically analyzed with the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and linear logistic regression test.
Results:
All test results of the hydrocephalus group were significantly worse than the ADHD and control groups. However, the ADHD group showed performances as good as the control group at the tests except for the arithmetic, digit span, block design, object assembly and coding subtests.
Conclusion:
The WISC-R results suggested that the ADHD group has more difficulties with their encode, focused/execute attention and sustain attention than visual attention. However, children with hydrocephalus have much more problems with their visuospatial perception, material organization and attention (especially encode, focused/execute attention and sustain attention); and these problems could produce adaptive problems in their social, cultural, behavioral and academic achievement.
