Showing papers by "Hospital for Sick Children published in 1976"

Children of immigrants. The adjustment of Ugandan Asian primary-school children in Canada.

Abstract: The study examines the psychological and academic adjustment to Canada of 51 Ugandan Asian primary school-aged children and their families. Twenty-six percent of all the children showed significant...

Components of respiratory depression after narcotic premedication in adolescents.

Abstract: The effects of narcotics on ventilatory control were assessed in 13 adolescents and young adults. Both a narcotic and narcotic-phenothiazine significantly depressed the CO2 response curve. Using an occlusion pressure technique (Pm100) to evaluate those neuromuscular processes that generate forces acting on the ventilatory pump, it was found that narcotic agents reduced neuromuscular drive. In most subjects, narcotics had an additional action that contributed to the overall ventilatory depression. Using carbon dioxide to vary neuromuscular drive before and after drug administration at constant levels of neuromuscular drive the drugs reduced tidal-volume responsiveness of the pump. We conclude that narcotics impair ventilation through a combination of two effects; first, reduced neuromuscular drive, most probably due to central depression, and second, increased impedance of the ventilatory pump, most probably due to a decrease in chest-wall compliance.

Instructing Ugandan Primary Schoolchildren in the Execution of an "Intelligence" Test A Controlled Evaluation

Abstract: The performances of 514 Ugandan primary school children from variously developed areas of the country were examined on the Draw-a-Man Test. These scores were compared with the repeat performances on the same test by children who received explicit instructions as to the execution of the test and a matched group of noninstructed children. Both results were then correlated with the children's academic achievement. Although there was a significant rank-order correlation between first and second drawings of all children, the instructed children had a lower test-retest correlation than their noninstructed peers, indicating teaching effect. Children who improved the most on retest were also those who had the highest general academic standing, suggesting that a general compliance to instruction (rather than practice alone) is an important determinant of performance change on this test. These results are discussed in terms of transcultural psychological research and the concept of intelligence held by the Baganda.

Sphingomyelinases and the Genetic Defects in Niemann-Pick Disease

Abstract: The Niemann-Pick Diseases (N-P) are clinically and biochemically heterogeneous. The common name is derived from the early work of Albert Niemann and Ludwig Pick who described the classical form in the years 1914–1928 (1) The first documented variation of these classical characteristics was described by Videbaek in 1949 (2) The latter patient was remarkable since no neurological impairment was found whereas all previous patients did show severe neurological degeneration. Later, in 1958, Crocker and Faber (3) described 18 patients with variable clinical expression and developed a classification which remains in use today (4) The features of each type of disease are shown in Table 1.

Hexosaminidases: Multiple Component Enzymes

Abstract: In 1968 Robinson and Stirling (1) demonstrated that lysosomal N-acetylhexosaminidase could be separated into two species by starch gel electrophoresis. They noted that the more anodic form, A, was heat-labile and that it could be converted to the less anodic form, B, by the action of neuraminidase. In the intervening years, several groups have used various methods of purification of these two species and have compared the similarities and differences between them (2, 3,4). The two enzymes appear remarkably similar in amino acid composition, molecular weight, kinetic properties and, when highly purified have reported similar hydrolytic properties (4,5).

Helping parents help their children

Abstract: If you are a parent, a teacher, or a professional who has to decide how to help a child with a learning or behavior problem, it is helpful to ask three questions: 1) How do I tend to react now to the child and the problem? What is my style of response? 2) How do children see the world? 3) Given an understanding of my own reaction to this child, and given an understanding of how children view the world, then what can I do about it? How can I modify my own behavior in order to help the child? In thinking about one's own reaction to a child who has a problem, one approach to the task is according to a scheme proposed by Karen Homey (1966). She noted that there are three basic ways to deal with a situation or a person: to move toward, away from, or against. Each of these responses can be good or bad, depending upon how extreme they are and depending upon the situation. The most common form of moving against a child is anger. It may be anger with the child, or anger with yourself, if you feel responsible. If you move away from the problem and the child, then you can ignore the child or deny that there is a problem. Moving toward the child at first sounds like the most preferable of the three styles, and of course it is, if done in a healthy way. But moving toward can take the form of pity, or overindul gence. It may seem that your primary concern is the child. But, if you believe that that is the case, it is important to consider whether you feel real sympathy for the child. Do you overdo it? Do you behave so permissively that the child will develop kinds of behavior that will cause other children and adults to despise him or her? In thinking about your present style of responding to your child, ask yourself, first of all, what you praise, blame, or ignore about your child. Consider very carefully and analytically the child's behavior, achievements, and misbehavior, and the embarrassing or upsetting things he or she does, and whether you tend to praise, blame, or ignore them. The first task, then, is primarily one of knowing and thinking: to develop in your mind a clear

The Role of the Speech Pathologist on the Craniofacial Team

Abstract: In 1971, a team of specialists began to evaluate and treat young patients with severe orbito-cranio-facial disorders at the Hospital for Sick Children. This paper describes the functional role of the speech pathologist on the craniofacial team.Preoperatively, each patient receives an assessment of speech and language, including a phonetic articulation inventory, tests of vocabulary and grammar comprehension, lateral cephalometric head and neck radiographs, and nasal airflow recordings. For any patient on whom procedures are contemplated which involve maxillary and/or mandibular re-alignment, the opinion of the speech pathologist is offered as to the likelihood of improving phonetic skills and the risk involved in causing speech deterioration. Post-operative speech status is evaluated to determine the results.The paper presents several cases as examples of the surgical techniques employed and the results obtained.