Methods for learning disorders

148 Volume 19 of the Handbook of Cllmcal Neurology (not hitherto reviewed) was devoted to Tumou~ of the Spine and Spinal Cord, Part I A smaller volume than this, the second part of the section dcvoted to tumours, it contained chapters on the incidence of spinal cord tumour, the chmcal symptomatology of such lesions, dlfferentml diagnosis and neuroradlologlcal investigation Volume 20 edited by H W Klawans, is one ol the largest m the series and contains the wrmngs of some ~(~ separate contributors An mltml chapter on aneurysmal bone cysts is followed by chapters devoted to the tumours of the spinal column, both primary and secondary, and the chapters proceed anatomIcally through the epldural and subarachnold space to the neuraxls itself, with a discussion of ghomas, ependymomas and vascular tumours of the spinal cord The second half of the volume is of cons~dc~able clinical interest, dealing with the aetlology, pathogenesls and chnlcal manifestations of degenerahve disc disease, profusely illustrated and mcludmg a thoroughly comprehensive discussion of neurogenlc intermittent clau&catton by Verblest This section, representing Chapter 19, measurcs some 198 pages and constitutes the biggest monograph extant on this fascinating and important chn~cal phenomenon Volume 20 of the Handbook maintains the very high standard of presentatzon, editing and printing of its predecessors and will prove one of the most useful of the volumes so far produced and certainly one which wdl be constantly referred to by prachsmg neurologists and neurosurgeons We have come to accept the very high price of this huge x~ork and it is more hkely that Volume 20 will be consulted m Departmental hbrar]es than m m&wdual consulting rooms J B foster

Methods for Learning Disorders, 2 n d

edition, by P

I

Myers and D

D

Hammtll,

xt + 447 p a g e s , 37 d l u s t r a t t o n s , 13 t a b l e s , J o h n W d e y a n d S o n s , N e w Y o r k , L o n d o n , Sydney, Toronto,

1976, £ 7 75, U S $ 1 5

50

This is the revised edmon of a book first pubhshed in 1969 its principal aim is to provide an overall view of the mare types of learning disability encountered m clinical practice and to outline the methods available to help those who suffer from them, mainly of course children, to overcome their educational handicaps While this book may have some appeal to British workers, it must be borne m mind that it caters for a professional group that hardly exists in this country This is the "specialist m reme&atlon", who combines many of the functions exercised in Britain by several distinct paramedical groups, e g clinical psychologists, speech therapists and remedial teachers In the United States, ~t seems, the remedial specialist, whether he be medical or lay, has made a profession out of trying to help children who, while grossly normal on neurological examination, suffer from various types of dlsablhty, exogenous or inborn, that greatly limit school learning and may have devastating consequences on their occupational future The types of children affected are those commonly said by neurologists to suffer from developmental dysphasla, dyspraxla, dyslexia or dysgraphla, though these labels are In general applied only if the condition is relatively severe and as a rule marked by at all events mlmmal signs of neurological dysfunction It is the comparatively large number of such children who display few, if any, physical signs that have the hardest deal at the hands of the educational authorities In consequence, this book may have value in alerting many people, in particular teachers and educational psychologists, to the existence of these varieties of educational handicap and of some of the methods already available which may help in combating them 0 L Zangwllt