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Sir.—In the November 1974 issue of the Journal, there are two articles concerning "soft signs" in children with learning disabilities (128:605 and 614, 1974). Both the article by Dr. Barlow and that of Dr. Adams et al are well considered, and I doubt if anybody with any experience would disagree with either of them.
The reason for this letter is the unspoken implication in these articles that we do not need to do a neurological evaluation of the child involved. It is with this inference that I disagree. In doing a neurological evaluation of a child with a learning disability, the knowledgeable physician does a lot more than elicit various hard or soft signs. He sits down with the mother and father and takes a complete medical history; he reviews the psychometric and achievement testing; he gets information from the teachers, counselor, and principal; and he reviews any pertinent