1988 Volume 29 Issue 2 Pages 174-184
Development of linguistic and cognitive abilities and school progress in a boy with semantic-pragmatic syndrome were analyzed from a neuropsychological viewpoint over ten years.
The boy was first brought to our clinic at the age of 2 years and 11 months because of delayed speech. Being restless and autistic, he was unable to play with others. Stereotyped and perseverative behavior as well as echolalia lasted until the boy became 6 years old. Clumsiness of finger movements and articulation disorder were also observed. The boy had no hearing problem. He was admitted to an ordinary school at the age of 6 years. Through his school years he showed superior ability in calculation, the best among his classmates, while he had difficulty in reading comprehension although he could remember Kanji characters very well. He also had difficulty in composition. An intelligence test (WISCR) wat performed when he was 15 years old. The results obtained were PIQ 91 and VIQ 65.In addition, it was found that the boy had difficulty in abstract thinking, while he was superior in concrete and mechanical thinking.
According to our developmental, neuropsychological hypothesis based upon the hierarchical structure of higher cortical functions, the basic problem underlying learning disability in this patient is considered to be disorders of the highest intellectual level, such as abstraction and reasoning.
