title: Impact of neurofibromatosis type 1 on school performance.
abstract: School functioning of 86 Dutch neurofibromatosis type 1 children (7-17 years) using teacher questionnaires was analyzed to determine the impact of neurofibromatosis type 1 on school performance. In all, 75% of the neurofibromatosis type 1 children performed more than 1 standard deviation below grade peers in at least one of the domains of spelling, mathematics, technical reading or comprehensive reading. Furthermore, neurofibromatosis type 1 children had a 4-fold increased risk for attending special education and a 6-fold increased risk for receiving remedial teaching for learning, behavior, speech, or motor problems. Children without apparent learning disabilities still frequently displayed neuropsychological deficits. Only 10% of the children did not show any school-functioning problems. Finally, it was found that the clinical severity of neurofibromatosis type 1 correlated with the cognitive deficits. Taken together, it was shown that neurofibromatosis type 1 has profound impact on school performance. Awareness of these problems may facilitate timely recognition and appropriate support.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pediatrics, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lianne C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Krab
authors.forename: Femke K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Aarsen
authors.forename: Arja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Goede-Bolder
authors.forename: Coriene E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Catsman-Berrevoets
authors.forename: Willem F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Arts
authors.forename: Henriette A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Moll
authors.forename: Ype
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Elgersma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D009456:Neurofibromatosis 1 / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012073:Remedial Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires