A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ

Kabat

See proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF).

K-ABC

See Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children.

KAFO

Knee-ankle-foot orthosis; see orthosis.

Kahn-Lewis Phonological Analysis (KLPA)

A measure of articulatory responses for the presence of 15 phonological processes for children ages 2-0 through 5-11 years. The KLPA is designed to be used with the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation (G-FTA).

Kaiser-Permanente (K-P) diet

Modification or version of the Feingold diet for hyperactivity; see also Feingold diet/hypothesis.

Kallikak

Fictional name for a pedigree composed of two distinct lines: 1) kalos (attractive, pleasing)—intelligent, respectable, productive citizens; and 2) kakos (bad, evil)—people with mental retardation and social degenerativeness. In 1912, H.H. Goddard publicized this family as an example documenting the heredity of feeblemindedness. Goddard's conclusions are now considered completely unfounded.

karyotype

An individual's chromosomes arranged by size (largest to smallest) from photomicrographs of the actual chromosomes of a cell. The autosomes are paired and then numbered 1-22, with the largest chromosome pair as number 1. The sex chromosomes are the smallest chromosomes and are not numbered. A normal karyotype for a male is 46 XY. The karyotype of a male with Down syndrome is designated 47 XY, extra 21.

Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)

An individually administered test of intelligence and achievement for children 2½-12½ years of age. The K-ABC comprises four global scales, each yielding standard scores (with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15). The intelligence scales consist of subtests (with a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3) combined to produce the global scales of sequential processing, simultaneous processing, and the mental processing composite, the latter being a summary score of the sequential and simultaneous scales. The achievement scale comprises a separate set of subtests (with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15). A special nonverbal scale is provided for children ages 4-12½ (with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15). Supplementary percentile ranks that take into account the child's race and sociometric background are provided for the four global scales, the nonverbal scale, and all achievement subtests except expressive vocabulary. Simultaneous processing refers to the mental ability to integrate input simultaneously to solve a problem, and frequently involves spatial, analogic, or organisational abilities as well as the application of visual imagery. Sequential processing emphasizes the arrangement of stimuli in sequential or serial order for problem solving wherein each stimulus is linearly or temporally related to the previous one, creating a form of serial independence. The mental processing subtests were deliberately designed to minimize the role of language and verbal skills. Performance on the achievement scale is viewed as an estimate of success in applying mental processing skills to the acquisition of knowledge. The test items are presented using an easel.

Kaufman factors

Three factors that emerge from a factor analysis of the standardization sample of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. The factor that appears to measure a variable underlying performance on the vocabulary, information, comprehension, and similarities subtests is labeled verbal comprehension; the factor that is assumed to underlie performance on picture arrangement, block design, object assembly, and picture completion is labeled perceptual organization; and the factor underlying performance on the arithmetic, digit span, and coding subtests is labeled freedom from distractibility.

Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (K-TEA)

An individually administered norm-referenced measure of school achievement for children in grades 1-12. It consists of two separate and nonoverlapping forms: a brief screening form that provides standard scores in the global areas of reading, mathematics, and spelling; and a comprehensive form that provides scores in the specific domains of reading decoding, reading comprehension, mathematics application, mathematic computation, and spelling. The brief form takes approximately 30 minutes to administer, whereas the comprehensive form may require 1-1½ hours to complete. Standard scores (with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15) are available by grade or age for the spring or fall. Percentile ranks, stanines (a scoring system with scores expressed as whole numbers from 1 to 9, with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of 2), and normal curve equivalents are also available. The comprehensive form produces three composite scores. Three comparisons of standard scores permit the determination of a statistically significant difference (a .05 or .01 level of confidence) between pairs of composites. A systematic method for determining whether there are significant differences in the results among suhtests as well as procedures for error analysis are also provided.

Kaiser-Fleischer ring

Green, yellow, and brown corneal pigmentation in Wilson disease.

kernicterus

Nuclear yellowing; in newborn babies with severe hyperbilirubinemia (high levels of bilirubin in the blood), the basal ganglia and other brain centers are selectively affected to produce a syndrome of choreoathetosis, supraversion gaze palsy (an upward gaze palsy—inability to look up), high-frequency hearing loss, central auditory imperception, and denial abnormalities (green staining of the teeth from the bile pigment biliverdin). The involvement of basal ganglia typically produces a choreoathetoid cerebral palsy.

ketogenic diet

A diet used to control seizures. Historically, fasting was found to have some effect on decreasing seizure activity. In 1921, the ketogenic diet was initiated as an attempt to mimic the metabolism (breakdown) of ketone bodies that occurs in the brain during starvation. The diet restricts proteins and carbohydrate consumption by supplying calories through fats. The diet is most effective in children between the ages of 2 and 5 years with minor motor seizures. Poor palatability has a serious negative impact on compliance, however, and failure to provide supplements for fat-soluble vitamins can produce pellagra. The diet is thus reserved for use in children who have multiple drug allergies or are unresponsive to anticonvulsants. A variant of the diet using medium-chain triglycerides (a type of fat) has been effective and may be better tolerated.

KeyMath-Revised

A major revision of the KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test (KMDAT) for children enrolled in first through ninth grades. The test is divided into three dimensions: 1) basic concepts including subtests of numeration, rational numbers, and geometry; 2) operations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and mental computation; and 3) applications including measurement, time and money, estimation, interpreting data, and problem solving. Obtained test data may be treated as norm referenced, domain referenced, or criterion referenced. Norms are provided for fall and spring testing. Standard scores and percentile ranks are the recommended derived scores, but stanines (a scoring system with scores expressed as whole numbers from 1 to 9, with a mean of 5 and a standard deviation of 2), normal curve equivalents, grade equivalents, and age equivalents are also available. There are two alternate forms.

KFD

See kinetic family drawing.

Killian/Teschler-Nicola syndrome

Tetrasomy 12p, Pallister mosaic syndrome; a genetic syndrome with profound mental retardation, a changing peculiar facies, contractures, seizures, and deafness.

kinesics/kinesiology

The study of body language, of body posture, movement, and facial expression as communication.

kinesthetic

A sensory modality for acquiring information through receptors in joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments that are stimulated by bodily movements and tensions. Examples of kinesthetic learning or memory include being able to get a spoon to the mouth, turn on a light in the dark, and walk up or down stairs. Typing is a more complex example. This modality may also be used in conjunction with visual or auditory modalities, when, for example, patterns of movement such as dialing a touch-tone telephone aid in recalling a number. Although the majority of academic learning activities emphasize visual and auditory channels, the kinesthetic modality has been utilized by some educators as a method for teaching children who do not learn easily through traditional modalities. Kinesthetic learning is included in theories about cognitive and learning style. The Fernald Word Learning Technique is a structured method for incorporating the kinesthetic modality.

kinetic family drawing (KFD)

An assessment procedure in which a child is asked to draw a picture of his or her family with every member doing something; interpretation parameters cover inclusion and exclusion, specific activities, interactions, and stylistic indicators similar to the Draw-a-Person Test. This technique is a useful screening indicator for the emotional health of a family.

kleeblattshädel syndrome

See cloverleaf skull syndrome.

Klinefelter syndrome

47 XXY; a genetic syndrome in males with hypogonadism (small testes, small penis, inadequate testosterone [male sex hormone] production), tall, slim stature with long legs and a tendency to obesity, and IQs about one standard deviation below expected. Shyness in childhood and personality and behavior disorders in adulthood have been described. Incidence is 1 in 1,000. One fifth of males presenting in infertility clinics have Klinefelter svndrome.

Klonopin

See clonazepam.

KLPA

See Kahn-Lewis Phonological Analysis.

Klumpke palsy

Paralysis of the forearm due to nerve injury usually received at birth and leading to a "claw hand." This peripheral nervous system injury should not be confused with a central monoplegia; named after August Dejerine Klumpke (1859-1927).

KMDAT

KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test. See KeyMath-Revised.

knee-ankle-foot orthosis

See orthosis.

Kniest dysplasia

A genetic syndrome with disproportionate dwarfism (shortened trunk), peculiar flat facies, joint limitation, conductive (involving the middle and outer ear) hearing impairment, and severe myopia (nearsightedness) with other eye defects. Inheritance is probably autosomal dominant.

Knott, Margaret

See proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF).

Knox Cube Test

A performance task in which the subject taps a series of four cubes in various presented sequences.

Knox Play Scale

A descriptive framework for the analysis of spontaneous play in children from birth to age 6 years; the test is intended to assess the social-emotional maturation of children.

Kohlberg, Lawrence

A major theorist of the developmental stages of moral thought and moral reasoning. Kohlberg postulated six stages of moral development: 1) rules are obeyed to avoid punishment, 2) rules are obeyed to obtain rewards, 3) rules arc obeyed to avoid being disliked and to enable the person to be seen as "being good," 4) the development of a conscience and an appreciation of society's need for rules. 5) The recognition that there are competing and contradictory (yet equally valid) values requiring judgment, and 6) the appreciation of the presence and validity of universal moral values and a commitment to them. Many children with developmental disabilities and limited ability to think abstractly develop rigid moral codes with fixed ideas of right and wrong; the problem these children have in admitting flexibility in a given situation can lead to difficulties in working with them.

Kohs Block Design Test

A performance task in which the subject must reproduce colored designs from 17 test cards using variously colored cubes. It is a subtest on the Grace Arthur Performance Scale.

K-P diet

See Kaiser-Permanente diet.

K-TEA

See Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement.

KUB

Kidneys, ureters, bladder; an X ray taken to visualize the abdominal contents.

kwashiorkor

"Sugar-baby"; severe protein-calorie deprivation leading to failure to thrive (poor growth and weight loss); protein is more deficient than calories (high carbohydrate diet), so weight can be more affected than height, and starvation edema will occur earlier than in marasmus. The Phanaian term kwashiorkor refers to the dull brown/reddish-yellow, thin, dry, lifeless hair that can be easily pulled out. This type of malnutrition is common in developing countries; its developmental impact on children may be reversible.

kyphosis

An excessive curvature of the vertebral column (upper spine), convex posteriorly, to produce a round-shouldered appearance.