ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the basis of research findings, as full a picture as possible of the sorts of strengths and weaknesses in intellectual functioning which characterize spina bifida children, in particular those who also have hydrocephalus. Sex differences is a well-established finding in the literature on handicap that the incidence of handicapping conditions for example cerebral palsy, severe subnormality, autism or speech disorders is higher among boys. The hyperverbal children tended to be more physically handicapped than the rest and to be rated by teachers as restless, fidgety and inattentive. Difficulties are also apparent when performance on the WPPSI and WISC subtests which involve visuo-motor skills is examined. Analysis of the children's spontaneous speech showed that the hyperverbal group differed remarkably from a group of normal children matched on the WPPSI for verbal ability. It is likely that spatial visual perception difficulties and visuomotor co-ordination problems are associated with the low scores in the experimental group.
