Psychiatric aspects of other childhood neurological disorders have been dealt with even more summarily than behavioural and emotional problems in epilepsy. It is only in the last few years that interest in this clinically very important area has surfaced.

Infantile hydrocephalus

In the pre-surgical treatment days of infantile hydrocephalus, major neurological handicap was often so debilitating as to preclude the study of psychiatric problem.

In a recent Swedish study of a populationbased group of surgically treated infantile hydrocephalus, behavioural problems and autistic symptoms were found to be very common. About one-fourth of all children with hydrocephalus had developed many autistic features by the time they reached school age. Hyperactivity problems and restlessness often associated with DAMP problems were also common. Autistic features and full-blown autism (which was present in 1 in 20 of all children with infantile hydrocephalus) were associated with severe mental retardation and severe brain damage. Other behavioural problems were associated with low IQ generally. Children with hydrocephalus who did not have a learning disorder did not appear to be at increased risk of psychiatric disorder (Fernell, Gillberg & von Wendt, 1991 a, b). Self-esteem was somewhat lower than in children in general (Fernell, Gillberg & von Wendt, 1992).

In older studies (Hadenius et al., 1962), so-called cocktail party syndrome was reported to be a common finding in children with hydrocephalus. This diagnosis was not made at all in the more recent Swedish study.