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Autism spectrum disorder is associated with diverse social, educational, and occupational challenges. To date, no standardized, internationally accepted tools exist to assess autism spectrum disorder-related functioning. World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health can serve as foundation for developing such tools. This study aimed to identify a comprehensive, a common brief, and three age-appropriate brief autism spectrum disorder Core Sets. Four international preparatory studies yielded in total 164 second-level International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health candidate categories. Based on this evidence, 20 international autism spectrum disorder experts applied an established iterative decision-making consensus process to select from the candidate categories the most relevant ones to constitute the autism spectrum disorder Core Sets. The consensus process generated 111 second-level International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health categories in the Comprehensive Core Set for autism spectrum disorder--one body structure, 20 body functions, 59 activities and participation categories, and 31 environmental factors. The Common Brief Core Set comprised 60 categories, while the age-appropriate core sets included 73 categories in the preschool version (0- to 5-year-old children), 81 in the school-age version (6- to 16-year-old children and adolescents), and 79 in the older adolescent and adult version (?17-year-old individuals). The autism spectrum disorder Core Sets mark a milestone toward the standardized assessment of autism spectrum disorder-related functioning in educational, administrative, clinical, and research settings.

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials were compared in 109 children with infantile autism, 38 with autistic condition, 19 with mental retardation, and 20 normal children. Children with infantile autism or autistic condition had significantly longer brainstem transmission time than normal children suggesting neurological damage as the basis of autism. (Author/DB)

Background: Dravet syndrome is a rare epileptic encephalopathy characterized by treatment-resistant polymorphic seizures. Seizure onset usually occurs during the first year of life, and seizures are often associated with heat-related triggering factors (e.g., fever, photosensitivity, or hot bath). It has been reported that children with Dravet syndrome often present with recurrent febrile seizures and vaccination-related seizures.Methods: We analyzed the occurrence of vaccination-related seizures (defined as the development of a seizure within 48 hours post vaccination) in 54 patients with Dravet syndrome. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether seizures occurred within 48 hours of vaccination (i.e., vaccination-proximate group) or not (vaccination-distant group).Results: There was no significant difference in the vaccination-proximate group and vaccination-distant group for the presence of SCN1A mutation. In our Dravet syndrome cohort, the vaccination-proximate group consisted of 17 (31.5%) patients with Dravet syndrome. Thus vaccination-related seizures are a common triggering factor in Dravet syndrome, reported in up to one third of our patients.Conclusion: Vaccination-related seizures may act as the triggering factor for the onset of seizures in children with Dravet syndrome, especially before the definitive diagnosis of Dravet syndrome can be made within the first year of life. We suggest further study of guidelines and protocols for the prevention and management of vaccination-related seizures in children with recurrent febrile seizures pending a definitive diagnosis of Dravet syndrome in the first 12 months of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess and compare the oral health status of preschool children with and without autism spectrum disorders. Methods: A random sample of 347 preschool children with autism spectrum disorder was recruited from 19 Special Child Care Centres in Hong Kong. An age- and gender-matched sample was recruited from mainstream preschools as the control group. Dental caries status, gingival health status, tooth wear, malocclusion, dental trauma and oral mucosal health were assessed and compared between the two groups. Results: It was feasible to conduct a comprehensive oral health screening among 74.1% (257) of the children with autism spectrum disorder. The mean age was 59 ± 10 months (range from 32 to 77 months), of whom 84.4% were males. Children with autism spectrum disorder had better gingival health than children without autism spectrum disorder (mean plaque score and gingival score p < 0.001). Children with autism spectrum disorder had less caries experiences than children without autism spectrum disorder (mean decayed, missing and filled surfaces and decayed surfaces, p < 0.05). Children with and without autism spectrum disorder had similar prevalence of tooth wear, malocclusion, dental trauma experience and oral mucosal lesions (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Differences in oral health status exist among preschool children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Preschool children with autism spectrum disorder exhibited lower caries experiences and better gingival health than children without autism spectrum disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pediatric myasthenia gravis (P- MG) is an autoimmune disease affecting the neuromuscular junction ( NMJ), and is rare in children. The roadmap of the research carried out for P- MG in Hong Kong over the past 30 years was reviewed. Currently, there is a lack of epidemiological studies in comparing clinical data or the outcome for people of different ethnic origins. P- MG is more common in Asians, especially Chinese and Japanese. Because of the lack of comparison studies for P- MG worldwide, the author initiated collaboration with international colleagues in 2008, and set up 'The International Paediatric Myasthenia Gravis Registry Focus Group ( FG)' in 2009. We then established an 'International Pediatric Myasthenia Gravis Registry ( IPMGR)' to review the current knowledge of P- MG in children. We designed an e- MG questionnaire for 'Myasthenia Syndromes in Children,' and launched through the website ( ICNAPaedia) of the International Child Neurology Association ( ICNA) in 2009-2010. As of 2014, we had collected 121 replies from clinicians-researchers in 43 countries. In 2013, we started a Delphi process for obtaining a consensus for diagnosis, management and treatment of P- MG. Despite the lack of research funding support as a result of the rarity of P- MG, and the lack of innovative pharmaceutical research and development, we still stress that we set up a foundation as a small step towards consolidating international collaboration to carry out epidemiological studies, genetic studies and randomized controlled trials of all the current available treatments, especially steroids for ocular P- MG, and indications for thymectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from 1,261 Chinese Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) patients were evaluated and categorized into dysmorphic (10.79 %) and non-dysmorphic groups (89.21 %) upon physical examination by the presence of dysmorphic features. Abnormal MRI/CT result, IQ scores and epilepsy were significantly associated with the dysmorphic group of ASD children. However, gender, EEG abnormality and family history and recurrence of ASD were not found to be significantly different between group statuses. It is suggested that results collected from the Chinese population generally resembles that found in the Caucasians with ethnical differences still present. Current study supports the result shown in Miles' study (Miles et al. in Am J Med Genet 135A:171-180, ), in which heterogeneity subtypes of autism of different genetic origins which could be distinguished by presence of dysmorphic features on the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: A selective approach is recommended for investigating children with GDD. Our objective is to identify clinical markers to improve the diagnostic yield of evaluation of children with GDD. Method: Children with GDD (delay>2 S.D. in>1 domain) followed up in our centre were reviewed retrospectively. We selected nine clinical markers (sex, severity of GDD, parental consanguinity, family history, behavioral problems, head size, facial dysmorphism, non-facial anomalies and neurological deficits) and looked into the likelihood of finding an underlying etiology during follow-up. Results: There were 577 children with 63%, 33% and 4% having mild, moderate and severe grade GDD. An identifiable etiology is detected in 53%. Genetic disease (25%) was the commonest cause identified. We have found that severity of GDD (severe and moderate versus mild grade [LR+=1.92 (95% C.I.=1.49–2.48); LR−=0.72(0.64–0.81)], behavioral problems [LR+=0.24 (95% C.I.=0.17–0.34); LR−=1.67 (1.48–1.88)], facial dysmorphism [LR+=2.66 (95% C.I.=1.10–3.54); LR−=0.65 (0.58–0.73)] and neurological deficits [LR+=2.85 (95% C.I.=2.32–3.50); LR−=0.31(0.25–0.39)] were clinical markers associated with increased chance of identifying an underlying etiology by multivariate analysis. Conclusion: These four clinical markers are useful in selecting patients with GDD for further diagnostic tests. Using the LR model, clinical markers in the first clinical evaluation of any child with GDD can potentially improve the etiological yield using targeted investigations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previous studies showed that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is activated when individuals engage in attention and inhibitory control tasks. The present study examined whether ACC activity is associated with behavioral performance of the two tasks. Twenty normal and 20 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were subjected to neuropsychological assessments on attention and inhibitory control, as well as electroencephalography recording. Children with ASD performed significantly worse than normal children on attention tasks as shown in their poorer performance on the Digit Span test, the greater number of Omission Errors on both the Continuous Performance Test II and the Go/No-Go tasks. They also performed significantly worse than normal children on inhibitory control tasks as shown by the greater number of False Alarms on the Object Recognition and Hong Kong List Learning Test. Their ACC activities, as indicated by relative theta power, were found to be significantly lower than those of normal controls during performance of the Go/No-Go task. Depressed ACC activities were further found to be significantly associated with poorer performance in attention and inhibition. Clinical implications on the use of theta activities in the ACC as an indicator to monitor intervention progress in children with ASD were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose was to examine the brain activation patterns with acupuncture using real acupoint (Liv3) versus sham acupoint in healthy, sedated children using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brain for 10 healthy, sedated children were taken during stimulation of real acupoint (Liv3 [Taichong]) and a nearby sham acupoint in a randomized order, employing twisting and nontwisting methods using a blocked paradigm using a 2.0-T scanner. The functional data were analyzed by using SPM 99. Various regions of the brain were activated in 2 acupoints. However, the pattern was different for the 2 acupoints. We suggest specific cerebral activation patterns with acupuncture might explain some of its therapeutic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Symbolic play test (SPT) is a simple test for screening preverbal language in children. This test had been validated in English-speaking children. However, the toys may not be useful for other cultures such as Orientals like Chinese, Japanese, Koreans or Thais as they use chopsticks and bowls as eating utensils rather than spoon, fork or knife. The aim of this study was to find a set of miniature toys suitable for children of Oriental ethnic origin in order to get a reliable language test. Methods: Altogether 140 children were recruited into this study. This included 62 control children and 78 with idiopathic developmental delay. The original SPT was applied together with an additional set of miniature toys appropriate for Oriental culture (i.e. modified version of SPT) by modifying play items in situations 3 and 4 to suit the Chinese culture. The authors replaced the knife, fork and plate with chopsticks and bowl in situation 3 and replaced the tractor and trailer with train carts in situation 4. For the ease of comparison, the authors segregated the age groups with the same age range as the original English-based SPT: less than 20 months ( N= 11); 21–30 months ( N= 45); 31–40 months ( N= 43); 41–50 months ( N= 21), and more than 50 months ( N= 4). Results: The mean scores of the cohort was higher (14.83) with the modified version of SPT than when the original SPT was used (13.64). A statistically significant increase in the mean score in situation 3 (3.67–3.24 = 0.43), situation 4 (3.76–3.36 = 0.40) and the overall score (14.83–13.64 = 1.19) was obtained when the modified SPT was used instead of the original SPT (all with P < 0.001). Conclusion: The authors recommend replacing play items like spoon, knife, fork and plate with Oriental culture-based items like chopsticks and bowl for the modified SPT (Oriental version). Users of the test should have a set of toy train carts available to supplement the tractor and trailer as these toys were not commonly seen in real life for Oriental children. The authors hope that the modified SPT can be used reliably to assess for preverbal ability of Oriental children, especially Chinese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We report 29 children with 32 episodes of Bell''s palsy admitted to a university affiliated hospital during an 8-year period (1995–2003). The peak age of onset was under 3 years. Three (10.3%) had recurrent attacks. Complete recovery occurred in all 32 episodes except 1 (3.1%) with partial recovery, having MRI evidence of parotitis shown in the contralateral side. The recovery rate within 3 weeks was 68.8%. There was statistically significant increase in the duration of complete recovery for those with positive virological confirmation or mycoplasma infection. There was no significant difference between the rate of recovery in those treated with a short course of steroid (N=23 attacks) than those without steroid treatment (N=9 attacks). As there were few studies in the natural course of children with Bell''s palsy, evidence based trials should be done to assess the natural course rather than giving steroid empirically as those with more protracted recovery might be viral in origin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Developmental disabilities (DD) are common childhood problems with significant impact on society. Early identification is important as there is potential for improvement through interventional/educational/(re)habilitative measures. There are currently no data revealing this situation in China. We review the current model of identification and management of Chinese children with DD in Hong Kong, a southern city in China. Our model was developed in the early 1960s and our system had been originally adopted from the Western culture due to political reasons, as Hong Kong was a British colony. This was modified over the years to suit our own unique, mixed Eastern and Western culture. With the expanding Western influence in mainland China recently, we hope this integrated model can be implemented in other parts of China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Environmental mercury levels significantly increased in the past decades following its increase in industrial applications. In spite of an increasing concern on the potential harmful effects of mercury on children, there is no reported data for the Chinese population. The relationship between dietary habit and environmental mercury exposure in Chinese children was studied.Methods: The hair and blood mercury levels of Chinese children aged above 3 years in 2000 March to September, were studied. Sociodemographic data, dietary habits of the past 6 months, and other risk factors for environmental mercury exposure were collected. Those children with blood mercury levels above the toxic range (i.e.> 45 nmol/L) and their family members were further evaluated and their blood and hair mercury levels were monitored before and after Fishing-Moratorium period (June to August 2000) in South China Sea.Results: Altogether, 137 Chinese children (mean age, 7.2 years) were recruited. The mean hair mercury level was 2.2 p.p.m and the mean blood mercury level was 17.6 nmol/L. There was a strong correlation (r = 0.88) between hair and blood mercury levels in our cohort. Frequency of fish consumption correlated with hair (r = 0.51) and blood (r = 0.54) mercury levels. For those children who consumed fish more than 3 times/week, hair and blood mercury levels were twice as high as those who consumed fish l–3 times/week and threefold of those who never consumed fish. Five children and 12 family members had toxic blood mercury levels. Their blood (P < 0.0001) and hair (P = 0.02) mercury levels dropped significantly after reducing fish consumption during Fishing-Moratorium period.Conclusion: Both blood and hair (i.e. Tissue) mercury levels of children in Hong Kong was elevated and correlated with the frequency of fish consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The incidence of pediatric stroke was estimated to be 2.5 to 2.7 cases per 100 000 children per year in North America and 13 cases per 100 000 children per year in France. Stroke is among the top 10 causes of death among children in the United States, with the highest incidence in the first 1 year of life. The annual mortality rate was 0.34 deaths per 100 000 person-years, with an average of 244 deaths per year. Interethnic differences have been demonstrated to be important in pediatric stroke. However, most population-based studies on pediatric stroke were from Europe or North America, and there was a lack of data on the incidence of stroke among Chinese or Asian children. Whether the etiologic patterns and risk factors for death and morbidity among Chinese children with stroke were similar to those described for other ethnic groups was unknown. Objectives. To calculate the incidence of stroke among Chinese children in Hong Kong and to examine the clinical spectrum, causes, patterns, risk factors, and outcomes of pediatric stroke among Chinese subjects. Methods. The population of Hong Kong was 6.7 million in 2001, and >98% of our population is Chinese in origin. In Hong Kong, public hospitals under the Hospital Authority provide >95% of the hospital service for the region. We identified children (>1 month to <15 years of age) who were admitted and given a discharge diagnosis of stroke from the Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System, which is a centralized computerized database for all public hospitals. The discharge coding of stroke used codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification. Only first admissions during the study period were included. We excluded any subsequent admissions by using multiple demographic characteristics of the patients. The incidence of pediatric stroke was estimated as the number of first hospitalizations divided by the... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. There is a recent trend of a worldwide increase in the incidence of autistic spectrum disorder. Early identification and intervention have proved to be beneficial. The original version of the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) was a simple screening tool for identification of autistic children at 18 months of age in the United Kingdom. Children with an absence of joint attention (including protodeclarative pointing and gaze monitoring) and pretend play at 18 months were at high risk of autism. Section A of the CHAT was a self-administered questionnaire for parents, with 9 yes/no questions addressing the following areas of child development: rough and tumble play, social interest, motor development, social play, pretend play, protoimperative pointing (pointing to ask for something), protodeclarative pointing, functional play, and showing. Section B of the CHAT consisted of 5 items, which were recorded with observation of the children by general practitioners or health visitors. The 5 items addressed the child's eye contact, ability to follow a point (gaze monitoring), pretend (pretend play), produce a point (protodeclarative pointing), and make a tower of blocks. A 6-year follow-up study of >16 000 children screened with the CHAT at 18 months in the United Kingdom showed a sensitivity of only 0.40 and a specificity of 0.98, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.26. Rescreening using the same instrument at 19 months for those who failed the 18-month screening yielded a higher PPV of 0.75. Therefore, children were likely to have autism if they failed the CHAT at 18 months and failed again at 19 months. It was estimated that consistent failure in 3 key questions (ie, protodeclarative pointing, gaze monitoring, and pretend play) at 18 months indicated an 83.3% risk of having autism. Because of the poor sensitivity of the original CHAT for autism, a Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT),... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective was to study the prevalence of neuromuscular diseases in Chinese children. A prospective study of neuromuscular diseases in Chinese children was conducted from 1985 to 2001 in Hong Kong, which is a city in southern China. The population census of June 30, 2001, was used to calculate the prevalence of neuromuscular diseases in Chinese children. Altogether, 332 children aged < 19 years at first assessment with neuromuscular diseases confirmed by using electromyography, muscle biopsy, and/or molecular genetic study were included in the study. Of these, 228 (68%) had inherited and 104 (32%) had noninherited neuromuscular diseases. Of the inherited neuromuscular diseases, the most common were the dystrophinopathies, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (n = 66) and Becker muscular dystrophy (n = 8). Spinal muscular atrophy was the second most common (n = 61). Of the noninherited neuromuscular disorders, myasthenia gravis was the most common (n = 62, 60%). Nearly 88% of the cases of myasthenia gravis were ocular type. The prevalence rate of neuromuscular diseases in June 2001 (n = 291 surviving) is estimated to be 214 × 10[sup−6]. The estimated prevalence rate of neuromuscular diseases in our Chinese children is 1 in 4669. (J Child Neurol 2003;18:217–219). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective There has been no study on the developmental stage of acquiring the skill of using chopsticks, which is a common eating tool of the Orientals. We aimed to obtain a developmental profile for achieving the skills of chopsticks manipulation in Chinese children and to assess the correlation between chopsticks manipulation and the level of achieving independence in ‘eating’ item in the Functional Independence Measure of children (WeeFIM). We also studied the relationship between demographic and environmental factors and the age of achieving chopstick manipulation. Methods Direct interview with the mothers of 445 non-disabled children who were randomly selected from the community. A chopsticks score (CS) of 1 was defined as children who could use chopsticks to finish more than half the meal, and a CS of 0 as failure to do so. Results The mean age of achieving a CS of 1 was 4.6 years. At 6.7 years, all these children achieved this skill. There was a significant relationship between age of achieving the skills of chopsticks and the level of attaining independence in ‘WeeFIM eating’ score. (P < 0.001) However, there was no correlation of age of achieving CS of 1 with sex, social class or the presence of a domestic helper. Conclusion Most non-disabled Chinese children can achieve the visual motor skill of using chopsticks at 4.6 years. There was also a correlation with the age of achieving independence in the WeeFIM eating score. The skill of using chopsticks should be added as part of the tools, apart from spoons or forks, for scoring WeeFIM in Chinese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the case of a 16-year-old Caucasian girl who developed acute onset of left hemiplegia, left hemisensory deficit, and dysarthria. After a negative computed tomographic scan of the brain, the patient was given intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator according to established adult guidelines. The patient experienced a marked improvement within 24 hours. Stroke etiology was determined to be a paradoxical embolus via a patent foramen ovale associated with pelvic vein thrombosis. This case illustrates the importance of early recognition of stroke and the utility of thrombolytics in treating ischemic infarcts in the adolescent population. (J Child Neurol 2001;16:286–288). We studied the academic, cognitive, and behavior profile of 18 patients with Prader-Willi syndrome. All had severe learning disabilities in arithmetic and writing, and the majority were also dyslexic. Their average Full-Scale IQ was 73.7 ± 8.9, which was 1 SD below normal range, whereas their performance on executive, memory, and visuospatial tasks ranged from 2.1 to 7.0 SD below the expected means. Behavioral problems were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist, on which the majority scored in the pathologic range for social and attention problems, delinquent and aggressive behavior, somatic complaints, and thought problems. Genotypes of the children did not predict cognitive or behavioral profile, nor could behavior be associated with parameters of weight or IQ. In summary, we found that patients with Prader-Willi syndrome have profound learning disabilities and cognitive deficits, greater than expected for their IQ. Behavioral problems, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are also prevalent and impede the overall management of this group of patients. The genotypes were not helpful in predicting cognitive or behavioral patterns. (J Child Neurol 2001;16:288–290). Molecular genetic studies were performed in 28 cases of... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study assessed and compared the oral health status, dental trauma experience and oral health habits of children with and without epilepsy. Methods: Thirty‐five children with epilepsy aged 3‐18 years old were recruited from the pediatric neurology clinics of 2 university‐affiliated district hospitals. A sample of 35 age‐ and gender‐matched healthy children was recruited as controls. Clinical data on caries, gingival health, oral hygiene level and dental trauma were collected and compared between the groups. Information about children's oral health habits and reported dental trauma experience were obtained by structured questionnaire. Results: Children with epilepsy had significantly poorer gingival health than healthy controls. No significant differences in dental caries experience, oral hygiene level, dental trauma experience, oral health habits and dental care service utilization were observed between the children with and without epilepsy. Among the children with epilepsy, those taking more than 1 antiepileptic drug had a greater prevalence of dental caries when compared with those receiving mono‐antiepileptic drug therapy. The presence of gingival hyperplasia indicated poorer gingival health in epileptic children. Conclusion: The study shows that children with epilepsy had poorer oral health status in terms of gingival health than those without epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The study aims to analyze the incidence, clinical features, investigation findings and treatment outcomes of anti- N -methyl- d -aspartate receptor encephalitis in children from Hong Kong. Method A retrospective study was carried out on paediatric patients diagnosed with anti-NMDAR encephalitis in Hong Kong from January 2009 to December 2015. Results Fifteen patients (67% female, 93% Chinese) were identified over seven years and the estimated incidence in Hong Kong was 2.2/million children per year (95% CI 1.2–3.6). The median age of presentation was 12 years (range 1–17 years). The most common symptom groups observed were abnormal psychiatric behavior or cognitive dysfunction (14/15, 93%) and seizures (14/15, 93%), followed by speech dysfunction (13/15, 87%), movement disorders (12/15, 80%), decreased level of consciousness (10/15, 67%) and autonomic dysfunction or central hypoventilation (5/15, 33%). The median number of symptom groups developed in each patient was 5 (range 3–6). All patients were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and/or steroids. Three patients (20%) with more severe presentation required additional plasmapheresis and rituximab. Outcome was assessable in 14 patients. Among those eleven patients who had only received intravenous immunoglobulin and/or steroids, nine patients (82%) achieved full recovery. One patient (9%) had residual behavioral problem, while another one (9%) who developed anti-NMDAR encephalitis after herpes simplex virus encephalitis was complicated with dyskinetic cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Among those three patients who required plasmapheresis and rituximab, one (33%) had full recovery and two (66%) had substantial recovery. The median duration of follow up was 20.5 months (range 3–84 months). Conclusion Anti-NMDAR encephalitis is an acquired, severe, but potentially treatable disorder. Ethnicity may play a role in the incidence of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and we have provided a local incidence with the majority of patients being Chinese. The diagnosis of anti-NMDAR encephalitis should be considered in children presenting with a constellation of symptoms including psychiatric and neurological manifestations. Patients may respond to first line immunotherapy. For those who do not, second line therapy is indicated in order to achieve a better outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reynell Developmental Language Scale (RDLS) and Symbolic Play Test (SPT) have been useful language tests for assessing the language age of children. Both tests have been validated in English-speaking children. However, there have been no studies conducted for Chinese children, whether Mandarin (Northerners) or Cantonese (Southerners) is used as the main dialect. As the Chinese population is the largest ethnic group in the world, and Chinese emigration occurred to nearly all parts of the world, it is essential to test whether these language tools can be applied for this ethnic group. The objective of this research was to study whether RDLS and SPT are useful in assessing the language age of Chinese children. Both RDLS (Chinese version) and SPT are conducted for 116 Chinese (Cantonese-speaking) children, aged 13–59 months, in Hong Kong. There is a significant positive correlation of the language age using RDLS and SPT with the chronological age of Chinese children. Both RDLS and SPT can be adopted in determining the language/mental age of Chinese (Cantonese-speaking) children. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]