Aletheia
Print version ISSN 1413-0394
Abstract
ANDROVANDI, Cláudia and NUNES, Maria Lucia Tiellet. Intellectual evaluation of school children with congenital hypothyroidism. Aletheia [online]. 2004, n.20, pp.55-64. ISSN 1413-0394.
Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is an endocrine disease resulting from lack of thyroidal hormones in the organism. With neonatal screening programs for CH, it is possible to avoid most of the neuropsychological consequences, allowing children to have a normal development. This study carry out an evaluation of the intellectual abilities of 22 schoolchildren with CH, who were diagnosed and treated until the age of three. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC) was used to assess children’s intellectual ability. The results showed that 18 children (81.8% of the sample) had a satisfactory performance, with median classification or higher, while 4 children (18.1% of the sample) had a performance below the scale median. These results point out that the children’s intellectual ability is compatible with their cronological ages.
Keywords : Congenital hypothyroidism; Intellectual evaluation; Children.