Visual - Constructive Dyspraxia of Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

Recent scientific studies highlight the interrelation of craniofacial growth and cerebral development. The cerebral cortex, important for the cognition, is directly related to sensitivity, motricity, and associative areas that command the organization of visual-constructive praxis. The objective was evaluate the neuropsychologic visualconstructive praxis perceptual functions of children with repaired cleft and lip palate. The The method used was 77 subjects, of both genders, 7 to 12 years, with repaired cleft lip and palate participated in the study. The Neuropsychological Assessment BANI-TS; the Bender Gestalt Test and Raven's Progressive Matrices were utilized. The results of the present study pointed difficulties in the accomplishment of the related neuropsychological tests related to the spatial orientation with a score of 72.7%; in the visual memory for reproduction of arbitrary symbols with 68.8% of correct answers; in the oculo-motor reproduction of structures in space with 66.2%; and, in tasks involving the acoustic-motor organization of rhythmic structures with 57.1%. The related perceptual-visual-motor abilities related to spatial orientation, relative position and construction of angles, had global performances below the average expected for the age, specially in praxis-constructive activities. The present study endorsed significant levels of deficit in the perceptual praxis-constructive neuropsychologic abilities, characteristic of specific cognitive dysfunctions.