[Periventricular leukomalacia and spastic diplegia: implications in the psycholinguistic abilities].
BACKGROUND
spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (D-CP) is frequently related to periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), which usually affects the descending motor fibers of the association cortex and association fibers of the visual, auditory and somesthesic functions.


OBJECTIVE
to verify the performance of children with D-CP regarding their psycholinguistic skills.


METHODS
participants were eight individuals of both genders and with chronological ages varying from four to six years, diagnosed with D-CP, having PVL confirmed through magnetic resonance. These children were evaluated through the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), considering the cognitive performance, the level of motor impairment and the performance in the auditory and visual subtests of the ITPA.


RESULTS
the results pointed to a significant correlation between the cognitive performance and the PPVT. The same correlation was confirmed between the PPVT and the subtest of auditory reception of the ITPA, when considering the psycholinguistic age. In the comparison between the auditory and visual abilities, the participants demonstrated a better performance in the activities that involved visual abilities, indicating a significant correlation in the association subtest. There was a statistically significant correlation between the level of motor impairment and the psycholinguistic performance, confirming the influence of the motor impairment in these activities.


CONCLUSIONS
the children with D-CP and with suggestive signs of PVL presented deficits in the psycholinguistics abilities, justifying the need of additional studies in this area in order to investigate the development of these abilities.
Lamônica
Dionísia Aparecida Cusin
DA
Departamento de Fonoaudiologia, Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo. dionelam@uol.com.br
Ferraz
Plínio Marcos Duarte Pinto
PM
D017677:Age Distribution; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D002663:Child Language; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D007807:Language Tests; D007969:Leukomalacia, Periventricular / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011581:Psychological Tests; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology