Richman Lynn C, Ryan Susan, Wilgenbusch Tammy, Millard Tom
Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242-1083, USA.
Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2004 Jul;41(4):351-4. doi: 10.1597/03-047.1.
To examine the diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children with cleft to determine whether language-learning characteristics are taken into account when making this diagnosis.
Prospective examination of 177 consecutive patients. Objective behavioral ratings, cognitive assessments, and attention/impulsivity testing of 32 of the 177 children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP) who had previously been diagnosed as ADHD and were receiving medication were performed. the prospective 6- to 9-month follow-up examination was examined to determine the accuracy of prior and posttest diagnoses.
University hospital-based cleft palate clinic.
Pretest/posttest design to determine accuracy of DSM-IV psychiatric diagnosis.
The results show that the proportion of children originally diagnosed with ADHD (18%) was significantly higher than posttest diagnosis of ADHD (6% p <.001). Also, the frequency of pretest diagnosis of learning disorder (LD; 31%) was significantly different from posttest diagnosis (66% p <.01). The overdiagnosis of ADHD and underdiagnosis of LD in this sample of children with nonsyndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate appears to be due to lack of language-learning assessment.