The prevalence of psychiatric disorder in 23 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy was assessed and compared to a matched control group. Dysthymic disorder and major depressive disorder occurred significantly more often among DMD boys than controls. Older boys with DMD were at greater risk of depressive disorder than younger boys. Possible aetiological factors and approaches to management are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Communication within families about Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

An interview with parents of 23 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) suggested that communication within families about the disorder presented difficulties for both parents and the boys. Spouses rarely discussed the condition and for many this was not a problem area but a way of coping by dealing only with the present. More problematic was the inability for parents and affected boys to communicate about the disorder. Lack of communication occasionally was responsible for carriers not being informed about the genetic nature of the disorder. Possible reasons for these patterns of communication are discussed and some approaches to helping families of boys with DMD are suggested.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1983

The auditory-visual integration test: intersensory or temporal-spatial?

Forty-two children, twenty-one boys and twenty-one girls, were tested at the beginning and end of grade one using Birch's auditory-visual integration test (AVIT) and a parallel visual-visual integration test (VVIT). Reading tests were administered at the end of grade one. No significant differences between the means of the two integration tests were observed at the beginning of the year. A differential development of the AVIT and the VVIT resulted in a significant difference between the means at the end of the year when a common variance of 58% was observed between the two tests. At the conclusion of the school year each function correlated significantly with reading (decoding), with the correlation between AVIT and reading being significantly larger than the correlation between VVIT and reading. Implications for the optometric treatment of children with learning disabilities are discussed.

Auditory Perceptual Disorders↗

PubMed1982