Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: language deficits in children post-treatment.
The language abilities of a group of 22 children (aged between 5 years and 17 years, 9 months) treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) were investigated and compared with those of a group of non-neurologically impaired, age- and sex-matched controls. The language test battery included an age-appropriate measure from the Test of Language Development (TOLD) series, consisting of either the Test of Adolescent Language (TOAL--2), or the Test of Language Development--Intermediate or --Primary (TOLD--I or --P); the timed subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Function (CELF); the Boston Naming Test; and one of either the Token Test or the Token Test for Children, depending on the age of the subject. As a group, the leukaemia subjects performed significantly worse than the controls on the TOAL--2, TOLD--I, TOLD--P, Token Test, and Boston Naming Test. The need for post-treatment monitoring of the language abilities of children treated for ALL to enable early remediation of areas of deficit is highlighted.
Department of Speech and Hearing, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
D L
DL
Buttsworth
B E
BE
Murdoch
A E
AE
Ozanne
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000628:therapy*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012737:Sex Factors