INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT OF NEUROLOGICALLY IMPAIRED CHILDREN ATTENDING NEUROLOGY CLINIC IN A NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTION

Abstract

Background: The need to identify the intellectual capability of Neurologically impaired children dictates their educability which can be estimated through their intelligence quotient (IQ). Draw-a-man test for IQ estimation is available, easy and has been validated in Nigeria. Method: Through a prospective, cross-sectional study that lasted 12 months (January-December, 2011), children aged 4 years and above attending neurology clinic were recruited once they have no severe motor or sensory limitations affecting their upper limbs, and can obey instruction to draw a person. Anthropometry was carried out on them and they were comfortably seated to draw a person. The parents or care givers were instructed not to make any suggestion or hint to them and no time limit was given. Their drawings were assessed using the 52 parameters of Ziler and interpreted accordingly. Ethical procedures were adhered to. Analysis was done using SPSS version 16 and an interactive calculation tool for chi-square tests of goodness of fit and independence. Results: Seventy-five (45 male, 30 female) children met the inclusion criteria. Their clinical conditions were Epilepsy 48 (64%), Cerebral Palsy 6 (8%), ADHD 5 (6.7%), Down Syndrome 4 (5.3%), Speech/Hearing impairment 3 (4.0%), Hypothyroidism 2 (2.7%) and 7 (9.3%) others. Their ages ranged from 4 years to 16 years (mean±SD = 9.7± 3.8 years). Their IQ distribution were Normal 4 (5.3%), Borderline 12 (16.0%), Mild Mental Retardation 16 (21.3%), Moderate Mental Retardation 19 (25.3%), Severe and Profound Mental Retardation 24 (32.0%) with no significant difference in relation to their birth order. Conclusions: Ninety-six percent of the study population had IQ below normal. Epilepsy was the commonest condition seen in the Paediatric Neurology clinic and all categories of IQ are seen among children with epilepsy.