This is a five-year program of research designed to learn more about the educational problems of cleft children. In particular the focus is on cognitive skills. Based on previous literature, the investigator reports that cleft children generally score 4-7 IQ points below non-cleft children and that this difference is accounted for largely by verbal rather than performance scores. The applicant reasons that approximately 15 percent of all cleft children have a """"""""primary"""""""" learning problem (defined by exclusion of other categories) and merit extensive study to determine the exact nature of this problem. A sample of 75 cleft children with a primary learning problem will be matched with 75 non-cleft learning-disabled children on relevant variables. The children will be given the following tests: The Wide Range Achievement Test; the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised Form; the Hiskey Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude; and a specially assembled Language-Learning Disability Battery. The cognitive patterns which emerge through factor-analysis of the WISC-R and Hiskey scores will provide evidence as to whether language-learning disabilities in cleft children are similar in kind and degree to those in non-cleft children. Other statistical comparisons are also planned, including sub-analysis of cleft type.
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