The parents of 63 individuals with meningomyelocele completed a scale
examining the effects of their child's disability on their family, Eig
hty-six pediatricians also completed the scale as they predicted paren
ts would respond, Medical and psychosocial data were also obtained, Th
e results showed the following: (1) A higher level. lesion was associa
ted with parental reports of a more negative impact on the family (p<.
05), and (2) pediatricians predicted a more negative impact than was r
eported by the parents (p<.001). We conclude that pediatricians overes
timate the negative effects while also underestimating the positive ef
fects of the disability on the family.