Children's Neuromuscular Disorders

The newborn child's immature nervous system makes early diagnosis of some neurological disorders difficult: it is often only the passage of time which clarifies the severity and pattern. Careful analysis of motor skills, vision, hearing and speech allows us to assess milestones. Progress from head control to sitting, standing and the maturation of gait should be orderly. Informed examination and the chapter on gait analysis highlight this development. Chapters in this book describe neural tube defects, the recognition and management of cerebral palsy and, lest we forget, poliomyelitis. The book is completed by considering the muscular dystrophies and arthrogryposis.