Amanda Tragueta Ferreira

Ocorrência de disfunção temporomandibular (DTM) e sua relação com hábitos orais deletérios em crianças do município de Monte Negro - RO

PURPOSE: to check the occurrence of temporomandibular disorder in children from Monte Negro/RO, correlating the findings to the presence of harmful oral habits. METHODS: the study was conducted on 79 children aged form 6 to 11-year old (41 girls and 38 boys). The presence of temporomandibular disorder was investigated and classified into articular, muscular and mixed. The presence of harmful oral habits involving sucking (baby bottle, pacifier, finger/thumb sucking) and chewing (nail biting, biting objects, biting the oral or labial mucosa, bruxism and clenching) was also found. RESULTS: among the 79 investigated children, 27 (34.18%) showed symptoms of temporomandibular disorder, with highest periodicity of articular disorder (48.15%, n=13), followed by mixed (33.33%, n=9) and muscular disorder (18.52%, n=5). Harmful oral habits were found in 69.62% (n=55), mostly involving chewing habits (39.91%, n=26) followed by sucking (8.86%, n=7); some children showed both types of habits (27.85%, n=22). The results did not demonstrate any association among harmful oral habits and temporomandibular disorder according to the chi-square test, regardless of the type of habit (chewing or suction). CONCLUSION: one third of children evaluated (34%) presented symptoms of temporomandibular disorder, without any association between temporomandibular disorder and the presence of harmful oral habits.

Comparação do léxico de crianças com Síndrome de Down e com desenvolvimento típico de mesma idade mental

PURPOSE: to check the lexical, receptive and expressive performance, of children with DS and compare it with the lexical performance of typically developing children matched for gender and mental age. METHOD: the study included 40 children, 20 with Down syndrome (experimental group - EG), of both genders, with age varying between 36 and 71 months and 20 typically developing children (control group - CG), matched according to gender and mental age (psychological assessment with the New Version of the Stanford-Binet method, adapted by Terman and Merrill) with EG. After the guardians have signed the consent paper, they responded to an interview protocol containing information about the previous life of the subject. The evaluation was made by applying Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), which assesses receptive vocabulary, and Child Language Test ABFW - Vocabulary Part B, which assesses expressive vocabulary. RESULTS: subjects in the EG had underperformed in the GC in the PPVT and in verbal description usual in ABFW, with significant statistical differences. There was a correlation between performance on receptive and expressive vocabulary of both groups. CONCLUSION: it was found that the lexical, receptive and expressive performance, in children with DS is lower than in typically developing children, even when matched as for mental age.

Communicative and psycholinguistic abilities in children with phenylketonuria and congenital hypothyroidism

ABSTRACT The Neonatal Screening for Inborn Errors of Metabolism of the Association of Parents and Friends of Special Needs Individuals (APAE) - Bauru, Brazil, was implanted and accredited by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in 1998. It covers about 286 cities of the Bauru region and 420 collection spots. Their activities include screening, diagnosis, treatment and assistance to congenital hypothyroidism (CH) and phenylketonuria (PKU), among others. In 2005, a partnership was established with the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Bauru, seeking to characterize and to follow, by means of research studies, the development of the communicative abilities of children with CH and PKU. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe communicative and psycholinguistic abilities in children with CH and PKU. Materials and Methods: Sixty-eight children (25 children aged 1 to 120 months with PKU and 43 children aged 1 to 60 months with CH) participated in the study. The handbooks were analyzed and different instruments were applied (Observation of Communication Behavior, Early Language Milestone Scale, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Gesell & Amatrudas Behavioral Development Scale, Portage Operation Inventory, Language Development Evaluation Scale, Denver Developmental Screening Test, ABFW Child Language Test-phonology and Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities), according to the childrens age group and developmental level. Results: It was observed that the children with PKU and CH at risk for alterations in their developmental abilities (motor, cognitive, linguistic, adaptive and personal-social), mainly in the first years of life. Alterations in the psycholinguistic abilities were also found, mainly after the preschool age. Attention deficits, language and cognitive alterations were more often observed in children with CH, while attention deficits with hyperactivity and alterations in the personal-social, language and motor adaptive abilities were more frequent in children with PKU. Conclusion: CH and PKU can cause communicative and psycholinguistic alterations that compromise the communication and affect the social integration and learning of these individuals, proving the need of having these abilities assisted by a speech and language pathologist.

Influência do tratamento ortodôntico-cirúrgico nos sinais e sintomas de disfunção temporomandibular em indivíduos com deformidades dentofaciais

PURPOSE: To verifying whether orthodontic-surgical treatment results in modification on the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction in individuals with dentofacial deformities. METHODS: Twenty patients of both genders (ages between 15 and 44 years) with different dental-occlusion and facial characteristics, submitted to mandibular and/or maxillary osteotomy, participated in this study. All patients presented at least one sign or symptom of temporomandibular dysfunction, verified through interview and clinical evaluation carried out before and after 30 to 60 days of the orthognathic surgery. The final evaluation investigated the presence of pain on palpation of masticatory and cervical muscles, and temporomandibular joint pain; auscultation of the temporomandibular joints was performed, and jaw movements were measured. RESULTS: All symptoms investigated in the interview decreased after the orthognathic surgery. Regarding mandibular movements, there was a significant decrease in postoperative mandibular opening, and little variation was observed in measures of lateral excursions. It was also noticed a decrease of pain in cervical muscles. CONCLUSION: The orthodontic-surgical treatment resulted in short term decrease of the investigated symptoms and clinical signs of pain in cervical muscles, and reduction of mandibular opening in patients with dentofacial deformities.Clinical trials register: 083578.

Habilidades de leitura em crianças com diagnóstico de hiperlexia: relato de caso

Hyperlexia is characterized by spontaneous and early acquisition of reading skills, manifested before the age of five, without any formal education. Expressive and receptive language deficit, excellent memory, delayed language skills, echolalia, perseverations, and difficulty to understand verbal contexts, are common symptoms in individuals with hyperlexia and global developmental disorders, including Aspergers syndrome. The aim of this study was to describe the reading skills of individuals with hyperlexia. The participants were six boys with a history of hyperlexia, perceived by relatives before 36 months of life, chronologically aged between four years and four months to five years and two months. The following evaluation procedures were applied: interview with the parents or responsible guardians, communicative behavior observation, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), recognition of alphabet letters and numbers, School Performance Test, text reading, and reading comprehension. The participants showed different performances in the PPVT, and recognized letters, numbers and isolated words. There was difficulty in answering the writing subtest; the majority did not understand the text that they read and all of them demonstrated recognition of letters and numbers. Some participants were able to read words and texts. However, all participants presented alterations in other areas of language development, such as receptive vocabulary, communicative behavior and understanding of the material read, in addition to altered behaviors of social adaptation, both interactive and restrictive.

Possible new syndrome: Left ventricular noncompaction, partial agenesis of the corpus callosum, and developmental delay in a Brazilian child.

We report on the clinical, neuropsychological and language characteristics of a boy with left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC), agenesis of the splenium of the corpus callosum, minor anomalies of face and limbs, mild mental retardation, and speech and language disabilities. The occurrence of pilomatricoma (calcifying epithelioma) may be part of the clinical spectrum or a fortuitous finding. Compared to other related conditions with LVNC suggests that this is a “new” unique pattern MCA/MR syndrome.

Desenvolvimento infantil na fenilcetonúria: atuação fonoaudiológica

BACKGROUND: phenylketonuria is manifested by partial or total deficiency of the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase that, in excess, has a toxic effect on the central nervous system functions, reflecting in the individuals global development. PURPOSE: to submit the alterations in the development verified in scientific studies with individuals with phenylketonuria, and to contemplate the abilities related to language development. CONCLUSION: individuals with phenylketonuria are risky for alterations in the cognitive, linguistics, motor and social-behavior functions. Deficits in the executive functions and neuropsychological abilities are common and imply in discrepancies as for language abilities development. The findings justify the proposal forwarding to the Ministry of Health with views to contracting a Speech and Language Pathologist in the accredited Neonatal Screening Programs.

Desempenho psicolinguístico e escolar de irmãos com mielomeningocele

BACKGROUND: meningomyelocele and consequences on the development of psycholinguistic and school abilities. PROCEDURES: the purpose of this study was to describe and reflect on the psycholinguistic and school performance of siblings with low lumbar myelomeningocele. The study included a boy, 14 years and 5 months (P1) and his sister, 6 years and 6 months (P2). The procedures consisted of an interview, Communicative Behavior Observation (CBO), Vocabulary Test Peabody Picture - PPVT, Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA), Phonological Abilities Profile (PAP), School Performance Test (SPT), and recognition of letters and numbers (RLN). The analysis was descriptive and respecting the manuals of the instruments. RESULTS: the oral language has no obvious change. In ITPA and PAP, we found that P1 and P2 had difficulty in memory skills, closure listening, verbal, combination of sounds and phonological awareness. P1 still had difficulty in the ability of visual reception and P2 in the abilities of auditory association and closure grammar. Both children showed difficulties in the learning activities. CONCLUSION: the study subjects performed quite well in communicative skills, oral language and receptive vocabulary without obvious changes. P1 and P2 had changes in psycholinguistic skills and performance of activities involving reading, writing and arithmetic. Difficulties cause major impact on academic activities, demonstrating the vulnerability of the brain in the system supporting learning activity.