Numerous connections between allergies and learning disabilities have been made in the popular press and other media directed to parents of the learning disabled. This article briefly traces the reasons for this association and critically analyzes existing research of such factors as school underachievement and learning problems, listening and hearing problems, absenteeism, and social-emotional disorders. Results of a comparison of group achievement scores, school attendance records, and medical symptoms of allergic and nonallergic students with and without learning disabilities raise serious questions about the purported relationship between allergies and learning problems.

The impact of a very common over-the-counter antihistamine, chlorpheniramine, was measured in respect to the reading comprehension of 12 normal school-age children (5 boys and 7 girls) who had a history of allergic rhinitis. Each subject served as his/her own control, and a double-blind design was employed. Each child's parent was given two bottles of cherry syrup and told to administer the syrup in Bottle A for 3 days and then that in Bottle B for 3 days according to directions on the bottle. Parents and children did not know which bottle contained the medication. One of the two forms of a standardized reading comprehension test was administered at the end of each 3-day period in the allergist's office by a trained test administrator. Students were randomly assigned to the two conditions and to the form of the test administered. The mean reading comprehension scores of the drug and placebo drugs were 59 and 60, respectively, which were not significantly different. This study would indicate that common across-thecounter antihistamines should not adversely affect typical school activities such as reading comprehension if used appropriately. Even If some drowsiness or inattention may occur, children's cognitive functions are not affected sufficiently to disrupt learning. O ur interest in the possible effects of allergy medication stemmed from our earlier work in questioning the relationship of allergy to poor academic achievement and social behavior from which we conAllergy Proc.eluded that no relationship existed except possibly in the case of severe upper respiratory complications and indirect effects these allergies had on listening and attention.' We noted that parents who were concerned about their children's behavior were also the ones who indicated that the allergy medication the children were taking was related to their hyperactivity, inattention, etc. Most of those children were taking theophylline.In 1984 Furukawa and his colleagues 2 then noted a significant improvement on measures of attention, concentration, and/or memory in the children in their sample when theophylline treatment was discontinued. In a larger 1987 study there was some evidence of theophylline's impact on concentration. 3 Rachelefsky and his associates 4 found that teachers could pick out the children who were receiving theophylline and saw significant behavior changes even though parent evaluations and a battery of psychological tests did not discriminate them.Geotz and his collaborators 5 compared the effects of terfenadine and hydroxyzine and found these adverse effects of hydroxyzine: slowed down reaction time on a visual-motor task and significant drowsiness, dry mouth, and irritability. Meador and his colleagues 6 also found that terfenadine has less side effects on sustained attention and cerebral processing speed as measured by electrophysiologic responses than chlorpheniramine.In analyzing the positive findings of Geotz's and Meador's research teams, Shucard and Creer 7 make the point that measures of cognitive functioning sho...

How allergies affect school learning and behavior---and how to help Every fall and spring many teachers notice an outburst of coughmg, sneezing, wheezing, and nose blowing in their classrooms. Afflicted students E are rubbing itchy and bloodshot eyes, scratchmg rashes, and complaining of stomachaches and headaches. They are listless and generally miserable. Yes, you guessed it; it is allergy season! Besides the additional noise and movement in the classroom, teachers are concerned about other things. They question whether this is a temporary condition, and whether they should call parents about it. They sometimes wonder if the sleepy or hyperactive child is taking too much medication. Allergy outbreaks could not come at a worse time than the beginning of the school year, when the student's full attention is particularly crucial, or the end of the school year, when the student's best performance is required on final examinations.

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