Early Diagnosis and Therapy in Cerebral Palsy: A Primer on Infant Development Problems, 2d ed.

Early Diagnosis and Therapy in Cerebral Palsy: A Primer on infant Development Problems, 2nd ed. Pediatric Habilitation Series, vol 6 By Scherzer AL, Tscharnuter I. New York, NY 10016, Marcel Dekker Inc, 1990, hardcover, 376 pp, $45 It is refreshing to find a book that treats cerebral palsy as a major developmental disorder that emerges as the child grows and requires early identification and management. Although the authors do not identify target readers for this book, the first part appears to be written for physicians and the second part for therapists. The introductory chapter covers the history of cerebral palsy, and the next two chapters cover the evaluation of all aspects of the disability, the differential diagnosis, referral, and overall planning. The authors also include a short summary of all the approaches to intervention. The dilemma of whether or not to make a diagnosis of cerebral palsy when symptoms are minor is discussed, and a solution is presented. The authors emphasize the importance of listening to the concerns of the family and discuss the misuse of the assurance "the child will grow out of it." In the second part of the book, the authors discuss sensorimotor symptoms and intervention for those symptoms based on the neurodevelopmental treatment approach. They provide very good descriptions and illustrations of some of the differences between normal and abnormal motor development. The first chapter on intervention covers home management and provides many good, well-illustrated suggestions about positioning, care giving, and activities of daily living. The chapter on treatment has many good directions and illustrations that describe handling techniques emphasizing quality of movement. Although the book is generally very well-written, it would have been helpful if some definitions had been included. Such terms as tonus, support tonus, postural tonus, and postural stability can be interpreted in different ways, depending on the background of the reader. This book would be an excellent reference for physical therapists working with young children who have cerebral palsy. It would be useful to physical therapist assistants only if they have an advanced background in movement analysis and movement control. LaVonne Jaeger