Neuropsychological patterns: neurofibromatosis compared to developmental learning disorders

A group of 32 children with von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis (VRNF) and school learning problems were compared to a matched sample of learning-disordered (LD) students without known genetic or medical disorders. VRNF children were found to differ from LD children on the frequency of WISC-R verbal-performance IQ discrepancies, on Kaufman's perceptual organization factor, and on specific measures of visual-perceptual functioning. Measures of visual perception were found to be the best predictors of group membership and accurately classified 96% of the LD group and 63% of the VRNF group. VRNF subjects also differed from LD subjects on reading achievement and error patterns on the Continuous Performance Test. It is suggested that the learning problems associated with VRNF might represent a form (or forms) of LD distinct from the category of learning deficits usually associated with 'learning disabilities'.