Educational skills: long-term outcome and predictors following paediatric traumatic brain injury.
Given that reading, spelling and arithmetic skills are acquired through childhood, their development may be compromised following a childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). The present study examined educational skills (reading accuracy, spelling and arithmetic) at a mean follow-up interval of 6.8 years post-injury in children who had sustained a mild, moderate, or severe TBI at two ages: 'Young' (age at injury: 3-7 years, n = 48) and 'Old': (age at injury: 8-12 years, n = 36). Comparisons between the young and old TBI groups resulted in inconsistent findings. While a dose-response relationship for severity was evident for the young group, this was not always the case for the old group. Significant predictors of outcome included both severity and acute intellectual function.
Catroppa
Cathy
C
Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychology Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia. cathy.catroppa@mcri.edu.au
Anderson
Vicki A
VA
Muscara
Frank
F
Morse
Sue A
SA
Haritou
Flora
F
Rosenfeld
Jeffrey V
JV
Heinrich
Liesl M
LM
D000367:Age Factors; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D011379:Prognosis; D011932:Reading; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D014956:Writing