DEVELOPMENTAL AND SERVICE NEEDS OF SCHOOL-AGE-CHILDREN WITH HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS INFECTION - A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Objective. To describe the developmental functioning and service needs of a group of schoolage children with human immunodeficiency virus (H IV) infection. Design. Retrospective data were collected through chart reviews and follow-up telephone calls to primary care givers. Setting . A multidisciplinary team provided care at a developmental diagnostic and treatment center. Patients. Cases were 90 school-age children (ag es 5 to 14 years) with presumed perinatally acquired HIV infection. Re sults. Forty-four percent of the 86 children on whom there were diagno ses were functioning in the low average to average range of intelligen ce, whereas 56% were functioning in the borderline range or lower. Fif ty percent of the children demonstrated significant language impairmen ts, with 28% also demonstrating an articulation disorder. Thirty-six o f the children (42%) were formally diagnosed as having emotional/behav ioral disorders. Eighty-six of the children were in school-based progr ams and of that group, 74% were in special education classes and recei ving related services. Conclusions. Most of the children in this study demonstrated deficits in the cognitive and learning areas, although t hey are clearly functioning better than earlier studies of children wi th HIV infection would have predicted. Their service needs include alt ernative living arrangements, remedial education, and psychotherapeuti c interventions. The children's increasing longevity will place strain s on the respective service systems.