Neurodevelopmental assessment of behaviorally disordered inner city boys

Area of Science:

• Neurodevelopmental assessment
• Child psychology
• Educational psychology

Background:

• Inner-city boys are often perceived as hyperactive by teachers.
• A new neurodevelopmental instrument, the Pediatric Early Education Exam (PEEX), has been developed.
• Evaluating the utility of PEEX for this specific population is warranted.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the usefulness of the Pediatric Early Education Exam (PEEX).
• To evaluate inner-city boys identified as "hyperactive" by teachers.
• To determine the relationship between neurodevelopmental assessment and academic/intellectual functioning.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-nine boys (mean age 102.5 months, mean IQ 98) were evaluated using PEEX.
• The study examined relationships between neurodevelopmental subtests, overflow movements, laterality, and academic performance.
• Specific tasks included sentence copying, answering questions about complex sentences, and following verbal directions.

Main Results:

• No significant relationship was found between overflow movements and neurodevelopmental performance, intelligence, or educational functioning.
• Laterality development positively correlated with reading success (p < 0.05).
• Sentence copying correlated with reading success (r = .38, p < 0.01).
• Answering questions about complex sentences correlated with mathematical success (r = .32, p < 0.05).
• The ability to follow verbal directions was the most sensitive indicator of educational, intellectual, and social functioning.

Conclusions:

• The Pediatric Early Education Exam (PEEX) shows potential for evaluating neurodevelopmental aspects in at-risk children.
• Specific PEEX subtests, particularly following verbal directions, demonstrate strong predictive validity for academic and cognitive abilities.
• Laterality and sentence-copying skills are important indicators for reading success in this population.