WISC-R and K-ABC performances of hemiplegic children

Three groups of 12 right hemiplegic, 12 left hemiplegic, and 12 control children 6 to 12 years in age were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), and the Finger Tapping Test (FTT). Children with left hemiplegia performed significantly below control children on both IQ measures. Children with right hemiplegia differed significantly from controls in Performance IQ test performance. Neither test completely reflected lateralized cognitive deficits in the hemiplegic children. Only the left hemiplegic group demonstrated a significant scale score difference with Simultaneous < Sequential. The groups did not differ in the number of children with scale score differences > 15. These findings suggest that congenital hemiplegia in children is not predictive of large intraindividual IQ scale differences, nor does it result in patterns of cognitive deficits found in adults with unilateral brain damage.