Objectively Identifying the Cocktail Party Syndrome among Children with Spina Bifida

Abstract

Past research into the Cocktail Party syndromehas been hampered by inconsistent identification of children exhibiting characteristics of this syndrome. In the present study an attempt was made to objectively identify such children in terms of their speech, memory, vocabulary and attentive abilities. In a sample of 33 congenitally physically disabled children with similar cognitive abilities, cluster analysis identified four subjects with spina bifida and associated hydrocephalus as exhibiting the Cocktail Party syndrome on the basis of use of language irrelevant to a descriptive task.