Neurological impairment in maltreated children

The neurological competency of maltreated children was assessed by comparing physically abused children not known to have sustained serious head trauma, neglected children, and normally raised children from the same socioeconomic milieu. Each child underwent physical and neurological examinations including EEGs, supplemented by perceptual-motor tests devised to detect subtle evidence of neurological dysfunction. Obstetrical and developmental histories, as well as intelligence test protocols, were available. Blind ratings by a pediatric neurologist using all available information revealed significantly more impairment in the maltreated groups with more than 50% of the abused children in the moderate or severely impaired category. The complex relationship between the maltreating environment and neurological disorders in these populations is discussed including the need to routinely search for evidence of subtle neurological impairment when maltreatment is known or suspected.