Scholastic Backwardness Research Articles

Yogasanas in Spasmodic Dysmenorrhoea w.s.r to Udavartha Yonivyapath

Many women are familiar with the experience of spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, one of the commonest gynaecological conditions that affects the quality of life of many in their reproductive years. This condition manifested as painful menstruation, is the most frequently encountered gynaecological complaint and it can be included under Udavartha yonivyapat, caused by Apanavata vaigunya described in Ayurvedic classics. This situation not only has a significant effect on quality of life and personal health but also resulting in loss of work hours and depression. Scholastic backwardness and work absenteeism as a result of dysmenorrhoea is common nowadays. Most of the medical therapies for painful periods like analgesics, antispasmodics, NSAID, and anti-prostaglandins are having many side effects. Hormonal and surgical therapies are also not advisable to all type of patients, especially teenagers as it may harm their future reproductive capacity. Here comes the importance of Yoga, which provides good approach to treat primary dysmenorrhea. Yoga asanas helps in stretching muscles of pelvic cavity and increases the blood circulation to the pelvic organs and also helps to neutralize Apana vayu, which help in normal menstrual flow. The practice of Asanas has a beneficial impact on the whole body systems and helps in relaxation of both body and mind. This study is undertaken to find out the Yogasanas having pain relieving capacity in spasmodic dysmenorrhoea as it doesn’t cause any side effects but improve the quality of life. A thorough literary survey was done in Yogic classics especially Asanas for women’s health, Asanas for reproductive health and tried to compile the Asanas together having the pain relieving capacity in primary dysmenorrhoea.

A study of family-related factors associated with scholastic backwardness in urban lower middle class school children.

Introduction:Causes of scholastic backwardness in a child may be internal or external. The external factors include the factors related to the family the child is living in, and these factors are usually under-estimated in assessing contribution to scholastic backwardness.Aims:The aim of this study is to study the family factors associated with scholastic backwardness in school-going children in Pune Cantonment.Materials and Methods:Three hundred school children aged 8–14 years studying in Class III to IX from two government aided semi-Marathi Schools in Pune Cantonment were screened for scholastic backwardness, and evaluation of family-related factors was carried out for positive cases and matched controls.Results:Significant association was found between scholastic backwardness and such family factors as maternal education, chronic illness in the family members, and family problems such as domestic violence and substance abuse (P < 0.05).Conclusions:The family a child lives in plays an important role in determining the scholastic performance of a child. Adverse impact on the child's performance can be made by such variables as low maternal education, chronic illness in one or more family members, and poor family environment. Management strategies and policies aimed at correcting these preventable cause would ensure that they are identified and remedied at an early stage to ensure optimum scholastic performance by children.

Symposium

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis plays a pivotal role in mental health research. In this symposium we will discuss the basic of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis commonly used in mental health research. We would try to answer all the below mentioned questions through examples in the symposium. 1.What is Systematic Reviews?2.What is Meta-Analysis?3.Why Meta-Analysis is important in mental health research?4.What are the landmark studies in Mental Health Research using Meta- Analysis?5.What are the software packages used for Meta-Analysis? Mental Health Research, Meta-AnalysisTitles of presentation:1.Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis in Mental Health Research: An overview : Prof. Basudeb Das2.Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis in Mental Health Research: Some Landmark Studies: Dr. Avinash Sharma3.Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis: Statistical issues & Software packages: Hariom Pachori Details of speakers: 1.Prof. Basudeb Das, Director & Director Professor of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi-834006.2.Hariom Pachori, Statistician, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi-834006.3.Dr. Avinash Sharma, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi-834006. Identifying and capitalizing nonacademic skills in the management of Specific Learning DisorderSpecific learning disorders (SLD)is one of the most common psychiatric disorder that led to scholastic backwardness in children. Studies reported decreased activities in left temporal and parietal cortex, increased activities in right frontal and temporal regions and reduced hemispherical asymmetry in dyslexic children. Reduced abilities in scholastic skills are postulated to be due to hemispherical asymmetry.Studies reported that the left side of brain is the area of academic skills such as critical thinking, reasoning, language, and numerical ability. The functions of the right side of brain are more related to creativity, imagination, emotional recognition. Though the two hemispheres of the brain work together to perform its functions, and the dichotomy is not established, clinically we observe that, in children with SLD, the non-academic skills attributed in the right side of brain is better functioning. In our Child and Adolescent Clinic, we routinely screen for the non- academic skills and use them for the individually tailored management of the children which we found to be useful.Most of the studies conducted on the interventions of SLD focussed on improving the academic skills. After widely searching the literature, we could not find any research focusing on developing the right brain skills of SLD children and using those skills in the management of SLD. Identifying the non-academic right brain skills and using them will help in rehabilitation, future career and educating the parents.Overview- Dr. Varghese P. PunnooseIdentification of non-academic skills- Dr. Parvathy RSUsefulness of identification of non-academic skills in the psychoeducation- Dr. Bettina Sara MathewImportance of non-academic skills in the management plan- Dr. Ganga G Kaimal Left – Right brain dichotomy- myths and facts - Dr Sneha Susan Varghese

SSPE (SUBACUTE SCLEROSING PANENCEPHALITIS) - THE GREAT MASQUERADER

Background: SSPE is chronic progressive encephalitis affecting children and young adults which usually presents with cognitive decline and behavioural changes followed by periodic myoclonic jerks, seizures, vision loss and ataxia. High degree of suspicion is required as the presentation can be variable and can have many differentials. Aim: We aim to study various presentations of SSPE Methods and Material: Retrospective study was done to analyse various presentations in patients diagnosed with SSPE as per modied Dykens criteria from a tertairy care centre over a period of 2 years (1st January 2018-31st December 2020). Results: 6 cases of SSPE were identied. Case1 - 22 months old presented with subacute history of ataxia, multical myoclonus and developmental regression. Gradually myoclonus worsened to involve trunk and developed drop attacks. Case 2 - 17 years boy presented with single episode of seizure. Case 3- 25 years female with 5 months gestation presented with subacute vision loss followed by progressive cognitive decline, behavioural changes, Parkinsonism, Dystonia and stimulus sensitive myoclonus. Case4- 28 years female presented with rapidly progressive cognitive decline and behavioural changes. Case 5- 32 years male presented with history of myoclonic jerks and dropping of objects. Gradually developed progressive behavioural changes and cognitive decline and became vegetative. Case6 - 9 year old child presented with faciobrachial seizures (myoclonic jerks) and scholastic backwardness. Conclusions: SSPE can manifest with varied presenting complaints. Also, Results of EEG, MRI and CSF examination can change during the disease course. Therefore, high degree of suspicion is required for early diagnosis of this challenging entity.

Newborn screening: Need of the hour

Newborn screening (NBS) is the process by which newborns are screened just after birth for disorders that can cause severe illness or death unless detected and treated early. At present, there is no national NBS program in India. Although the exact incidence in India is not known, approximately 4:1000 and 5:1000 are estimated to have hearing defects and congenital heart abnormalities, respectively, whereas the incidence of IEMs is estimated to be approximately 1:1000. This high incidence is due to high prevalence of consanguinity in our country. If undiagnosed and untreated many children develop mental retardation, learning disabilities, autism, dyslexia, behavioral abnormalities, and scholastic backwardness later in life. There is also considerable burden-financial and emotional on the parents to diagnose, treat, and manage these children. The most rational and cost-effective way of preventing such tragedies would be to have a NBS program which will detect most of the preventable or treatable, if not all IEMs and other genetic disorders. Hence, all hospitals in urban areas in India should initiate NBS at least for the common disorders: CH, CAH, and G6PD deficiency.

Prevalence and inequalities in contraceptive use among adolescents and young women: data from a birth cohort in Brazil.

Monitoring trends of contraceptive use and identifying the groups with less coverage are needed to guide public policies and make them more efficient. But, in Brazil, recent data about these aspects are limited. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of contraceptive use and its inequalities during adolescence and early adulthood. Data from the 1993 Pelotas birth cohort, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, were used. At 15, 18 and 22 years, respectively, 335, 1,458 and 1,711 women reported having started their sexual lives and were included in analysis. Prevalence and 95% confidence intervals were obtained to describe the most used contraceptive methods. Inequalities in modern contraceptive use were evaluated according to wealth index, scholastic backwardness and ethnicity. In all follow-ups, more than 80% of women used at least one modern method. The use of barrier methods decreased with age; at 22 this prevalence was 36.3%. Such use concomitant with other modern methods was lower than 50% in all follow-ups. We observed inequalities in the use of modern contraceptive methods, mainly in barrier methods used with other modern methods. These findings may contribute and improve the public policies in family planning.

A CLINICAL STUDY TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF GUDUCHYADI SYRUP IN ENHANCEMENT OF MEDHA IN SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN

Academic underachievement of children is a big concern among parents and teachers in present day competitive society. It is reported that around 20% of school children have scholastic backwardness include physical illness, below average Intelligence, Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Psychiatric Disorder, family and school factors. Intelligence is usually said to involve mental capabilities such as the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend ideas and language, and learn. In spite of advancement in modern medicine, its success is very limited in context with the enhancement of Intellectual power and memory. Objectives: 1) To select subject with IQ ranging from 70 – 89 and study in detail about the factors influencing the Intelligence. 2) To evaluate the effect of Guduchyadi Syrup in the enhancement of Medha in school going children. Materials and Methods: An interventional Randomized Placebo Controlled Clinical study was conducted, in which 30 subjects were assigned in both Group A and Group B and given with Guduchyadi syrup and Sugar syrup respectively, with a dose of 5ml thrice a day after food for duration of 3 months. Follow up was done on 30th day after completion of the treatment. Interpretation and Result: Both the groups showed significant result in Subjective and Objective parameters. Conclusion: Both Guduchyadi syrup and Sugar syrup are having significant effect on Medha. The effect is considered to be consistent or improved even after follow up. But the change was less for the group given with Sugar syrup compared to the effect of Guduchyadi syrup.

Development of a Battery to Assess Perceptual-Motor, Cognition, Language, and Scholastic Skills among Bengali Children with Neuro Developmental Disorders.

Background:School failure or poor academic performance is often found in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD); however, there is a dearth of a comprehensive assessment tool to evaluate various underlying deficits, including perceptual-motor, cognitive, language, and scholastic skills of those who have NDD. The study aimed to develop a test to fill-up this gap.Materials and Methods:The study followed three phases: the construction of an assessment battery in both Bengali and English languages, separately, incorporating tasks on perceptual-motor, cognitive, language, and scholastic skills; doing a pilot study, and finally, standardization. Standardization was done on 91 normal children (NC) aged 4.5 to 9.5 years, from four districts of West Bengal. The test was applied to 57 children with poor school performance across various NDD, including specific learning disorder, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and communication disorder. Binet Kamat Test (BKT) of intelligence, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) Index for specific learning disability (SLD), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Conner's Abbreviated Rating Scale- Parent Report, Linguistic Profile Test, and Test of Pragmatic Language were used as screening tools to identify children with various NDD. The psychometric properties of the tool were assessed.Results:The factor analysis suggested four-factor solution named scholastic–cognitive–motor, attention, auditory–verbal, and perceptual skill. The internal consistency of the test was found to be higher (Cronbach's α >0.70 for most tests), indicating high reliability. Discriminant validity revealed significant score differences between NC and children with NDD (P <.01), suggesting that the new tool can differentiate children with NDD from healthy NC.Conclusion:The results favor the new tool as a psychometrically strong tool to assess the scholastic backwardness of children with NDD. It may be further used to create specific profiles for different categories of NDD.

Etiology and risk factors for scholastic backwardness in children – A retrospective study

Background: Scholastic backwardness (SB) is estimated to affect 20–50% of schoolgoing children in India. The etiology includes low intelligence quotient (IQ), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disabilities (SLD), and chronic illnesses. Non-cognitive factors such as poor parenting, marital disharmony, and sibling rivalry could also affect learning. Early recognition and prompt remediation could obviate its negative impact on a child’s self-esteem and achievements. Objective: The objective of the study was to study the etiology and risk factors for SB in children. Materials and Methods: This hospital-based retrospective study was done in the child guidance clinic of the Department of Pediatrics of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Karnataka. The records of children age 5–16 years, visiting the SB unit from January 2011 to January 2019, were reviewed. Children fulfilling the case definition of SB were included in the study and classified based on IQ, attention span, and performance on NIMHANS scale for SLD. The risk factors for SB were also assessed. Results: Among the 286 children with SB, the causes identified were attention deficit disorder (ADD) (4.5%), ADD with SLD (30.4%), SLD (24.1%), slow learners (SL) (20.6%), intellectual disability (ID) (3.1%), and others (17.1%). Consanguinity, developmental delay, seizure disorder, and lower educational status of parents were strongly associated with low IQ. Birth by cesarean section was associated with ADD. Psychosocial risk factors included disturbed home environment, poor parenting techniques, and poor relation with teachers and peers. Conclusion: SLD, ADD, SL, and ID are the major causes of SB. Disturbed relations with parents, peers, and teachers can also contribute to SB.

A comparative study of school health services in South India

Background: India is home to 47.3 crore children (0–18 years) comprising 39 percent of the country’s total population. Sickness is a major cause of school absenteeism and scholastic backwardness. Objectives1. To find out availability and implementation of school health related services in urban and rural area of Tirupati.2. To compare availability and implementation of health related services between rural and urban government schools of Tirupati. Materials and Methods: This Cross sectional study was conducted in Schools of Rural Field Practice Area and in urban area of South India during June to September 2019. The information collected on various attributes of health services availability and implementation was compared between the two areas. Results: Medical examination of students was never done in 4 government schools in rural area. First aid kit was available in 15 (93.75%) urban government schools but was not fully equipped. Teachers were not doing morning inspection of students in rural government schools. Yoga facility and students counselling facility was not available in rural government schools. Majority of the schools in urban area are maintaining the school health records. Hand washing facility was available in majority of urban schools. Conclusion: Availability and implementation of most of the school health services were found to be higher in urban government schools compared to government schools in rural area.

Academic Excellence through Multi-Sensory Approach: A Model for Classroom Teaching

Human senses are natural contributions which transform the information to the brain for further processing to understand what is being presented to an individual through sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. Senses will also determine the understanding of the different concept being presented and recall those contents or information for the right situation for the right action. To help the individual learner, teachers in various educational institutions should understand and apply the Multi-Sensory Approach in presenting their teaching contents in a classroom teaching to reach out the uniqueness of the individual learner’s learning style and bring the best academic excellence. With the main aim of helping learners with their unique learning style, the “Itagi’s Model of Multi-Sensory Approach” is been developed by Gururaj Itagi. Highlighting various methods, strategies and techniques in teaching process focussing on individual learning style to maximize student’s academic excellence. This model is framed based on the different learning style of students. This framework considers integrated phases of teaching such as auditory, visual and kinaesthetic approach. The model focuses on Adolescence (aged 12-18 years) mainly on students with scholastic backwardness.

Academic Excellence through Multi-Sensory Approach: A Model for Classroom Teaching

Human senses are natural contributions which transform the information to the brain for further processing to understand what is being presented to an individual through sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. Senses will also determine the understanding of the different concept being presented and recall those contents or information for the right situation for the right action. To help the individual learner, teachers in various educational institutions should understand and apply the Multi-Sensory Approach in presenting their teaching contents in a classroom teaching to reach out the uniqueness of the individual learner’s learning style and bring the best academic excellence. With the main aim of helping learners with their unique learning style, the “Itagi’s Model of Multi- Sensory Approach” is been developed by Gururaj Itagi. Highlighting various methods, strategies and techniques in teaching process focusing on individual learning style to maximize student’s academic excellence. This model is framed based on the different learning style of students. This framework considers integrated phases of teaching such as auditory, visual and kinesthetic approach. The model focuses on Adolescence (aged 12-18 years) mainly on students with scholastic backwardness.

A Study on the Teacher-Student Relationship and its Impact on the Behaviour of High School Students

High school students are in the stage of Adolescence and it is the time for developing independence. Typically, adolescents exercise their independence by questioning and sometimes by breaking rules. Parents and teachers must play a major role in supporting &amp;influencing the children positively by their ethical &amp; appropriate approaches. Teachers in school as well as parent at home, often wonder how to disciple a child and to mould their behaviour so to bring up the child with virtues. Although some children truly have challenging behaviours regardless of what strategies to try, many children just need to have the adults in their lives make changes in the way they react, respond, or interact with them. It is also a great responsibility of the teacher in school to have positive approach towards students. If not there are possibilities in change of behaviour among students &amp; leads to several problems. For example, frequent episodes of fighting, scholastic backwardness, substance abuse; antisocial or institutional activities, destructive behaviour and change in attitude in students are much more significant than isolated episodes of the same activities. Other warning signs include deterioration of performance at school and running away from home. This research paper’s aim is the teacher-students relationship and its impact on the behaviour of High school students. The objectives are to know the teachers attitudes both positive and negative towards students and its impact to bring positive as well as negative behaviour change in the students. The study has reported that students are often facing emotional problems by the negative approach of the teachers. It is recommended that to create awareness among teachers in the school for the smooth handling the children with the positive approaches. 50 high school students; 25 girls and 25 boys were taken and interview schedule is used. Both the primary and secondary methods are used and the study is descriptive in nature.

Assessment of knowledge level on learning disability among primary school teachers

Background: Learning disability (LD) is one of the major causes of poor scholastic backwardness. Undetected and unmanaged specific LDs result in chronic scholastic backwardness ensuing school dropouts, emotional and behavioral problems such as depression, substance abuse and social delinquency. Since teachers are the ones who first encounter academic difficulties of children, their knowledge and training on LD is of utmost importance in identifying it at an initial stage and to prevent further mental and social damage. This study is to assess the knowledge level of primary school teachers on learning disability.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among government primary school teachers of Malappuram district, Kerala from April 16, 2018 to May 20, 2018.Convenient sampling method was adopted. The study sample consisted of 709 primary school teachers from 21 schools in Malappuram district of Kerala and the teacher’s knowledge level on learning disability was assessed using a questionnaire.Results: Even though majority of the teachers had some knowledge about the outcome and treatment of learning disability, they lack sufficient knowledge about its concepts and causes and it is grossly insufficient for its practical application in the class room.Conclusions: There is a need to improve the knowledge of primary school teachers on LD and to enhance their basic skills in recognizing learning disability at the earliest. This is very important for the management of these children by introducing and applying the appropriate remedial measures on time. This can go a long way in improving the quality of learning among children with poor scholastic performance.

Profile of students referred for the assessment of scholastic backwardness at a tertiary care center.

Background:Scholastic backwardness (SB) is a challenging problem affecting school-going children. Students seeking evaluation and certification of SB, especially in class nine and ten are on a rising trend in Kerala, the most literate state in India. However, there is a paucity of research regarding this.Objectives:The objectives of this study are to determine the clinical, sociodemographic, and academic profile of students referred with “difficulty in academics” in the psychiatry department of a government teaching hospital in Kerala.Materials and Methods:A retrospective chart review of students aged 6–16 years, referred to clinical psychologist for the structured assessment of SB, after evaluation by psychiatrists, over 1 year was done.Results:Overall, 207 students were assessed. Children aged 13–16 years were the majority (61.4%). Most of them were males (61.4%) and from rural background (81.6%). Majority (60%) was from high school and 22% of students were in class 10. Previous assessments for SB were done only in 20% of high school students. About 97% belonged to state syllabus, 90% were in Malayalam medium, and 93.3% were referred by teachers. The principal diagnosis was “slow learners” (34.8%) followed by intellectual disability (28%). About 11.6% had specific learning disorder (SLD), 15.5% had other neurodevelopmental, behavioral, and emotional disorders/problems, and 10% had no diagnosis.Conclusion:Varying degrees of intellectual impairment was the main cause of SB; majority was in high school and was never evaluated for SB. There was over-representation of class 10 students for first-ever assessment. Students with SB were identified and referred late for professional services. Those with SLD and nil diagnosis were similar in number probably reflecting an attempt to pass board exams by availing the benefits of certification. Designing curriculum and assessment to suit the differing intellectual levels of students are, therefore, recommended.

A study of association of behavioral problems with scholastic backwardness in urban lower middle-class school children.

Introduction:Scholastic backwardness is a common phenomenon with multifactorial etiology. Behavioral problems are known to occur in children who are scholastically backward (SB). These may be a part of the broad phenomenon, or may exist in cause and effect relationship with scholastic backwardness.Aims:The aim of this study is to study the presence of behavioral problems associated with scholastic backwardness in school-going children in Pune cantonment.Materials and Methods:A total of 300school children aged 8–14 years studying in Class III–IX from two government-aided semi-Marathi schools in Pune cantonment were screened for scholastic backwardness and evaluation of behavioral problems was carried out for positive cases and matched controls.Results:Out of the 28 SB children, behavioral problems were present in 17, giving a prevalence of 60.71%, in comparison with the scholastically normal (SN) group of 50, only 14 of which had behavioral problems, prevalence is 28%. A significant association was found between scholastic backwardness and behavioral problems, which were more prevalent in the SB group compared to matched controls.Conclusions:Behavioral problems are more prevalent among children who are SB when compared to their SN counterparts. Further research is required to assess in detail whether the behavioral problems are comorbid with scholastic backwardness, lead to scholastic backwardness or occur as a consequence of scholastic backwardness.

Scholastic backwardness among school students: Prevalence and correlates

Scholastic backwardness among school students: Prevalence and correlates

Maanasa: An early individualized remedial educational intervention model for scholastic backwardness among upper primary students

Background: Scholastic backwardness is called as the learning achievement which is below the expected for a given age, cognitive skills, and schooling. Early identification and remedial measures are to be initiated at school level to control its lifelong impact. Objective: The objective of this study is to evolve an early individualized, remedial educational intervention model for the scholastic backwardness among upper primary students at the school level by the resource teachers. Materials and Methods: Whole upper primary students of the four government schools of the South Maararikkulam Grama Panchayath constituted the study population. The scholastic backwardness among them was identified and referred to specially trained resource teachers who were appointed in the schools under Maanasa project. They were graded as mild, moderate and severe category based on the level of scholastic backwardness. Children were given 1 academic year of individualized educational intervention along with inclusive education. Apart from these interventions, families of the identified students were given psychosocial interventions to create a learningfriendly atmosphere in their families. Learning skills of the scholastically backward students were re-assessed at the end of academicyear. Results: Out of total 629 students, 147 had scholastic backwardness (23.7%). Among these, 68 had mild, 60 moderate, and 19 had severe scholastic backwardness on reading skill grading. Psychosocial problems including alcoholism, domestic violence, quarrelsome events, and abandoned family were noticed among 48.7% of the parents of scholastically backward students. Reassessment at the end of academic year showed improvement of scholastic skill among 52.38% of the students. Conclusion: The present study proves that scholastic backwardness can be successfully approached and intervened at school level itself by impartingindividualized educational interventions by trained resource teachers. The parents should be taken into confidence for successful intervention.

Attitude of Primary School Teachers towards Children with Learning Disabilities

Background: When the special needs of children with learning disabilities are not met, it can lead to scholastic backwardness and related psycho-socio problems. Hence, early identification by teachers is crucial. It would, therefore, be important to assess the attitudes of teachers toward children with learning disabilities. Method: The current study aimed at assessing the attitude of primary school teachers towards children with learning disabilities using Teachers’ Attitude about Learning Disabilities (PSTALD) scale. The sample for the study consisted of 200 primary school teachers in Bangalore South from 16 schools. Result: The teachers had less favorable attitude towards inclusion of children with learning disabilities in regular schools. Female teachers had favorable attitude towards helping children with learning disabilities on overall scores of PSTALD scale compared to male counterparts. Apart from this, unaided school teachers and teachers with higher education had statistically significant positive (p < 0.05) attitude on all the domains of PSTALD scale compared to other categories. Conclusion: The findings of the research highlight the need for bringing awareness to change the attitude towards inclusion and bringing children with learning disabilities into the educational mainstream.

Knowledge and Attitudes About Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Specific Learning Disorder in an Urban Indian Population.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and specific learning disorders (SLDs) are an important cause of scholastic backwardness among children and often go unrecognized. Few studies have examined knowledge and attitudes toward ADHD and SLD among school-aged children. To address this deficit, 120 school-aged children, attending a child guidance clinic in Mumbai, were interviewed using a questionnaire that examined children's knowledge and attitudes about ADHD and SLD. The results were compared both qualitatively and quantitatively with a frequently occurring medical illness, common cold. Approximately 80% to 100% of children were aware of their illness; however, a large variation was noted in the proportion of children (15%-80%) who could describe their symptoms, provide accurate attributions for their illness, and identify treatment modalities. Children with ADHD reported greater control over their illness. The study identified a significant lack of knowledge about ADHD and SLD among school-aged children in India and discusses implications of this finding.