Long-term neuropsychological performance in a cohort of children and adolescents after severe paediatric traumatic brain injury

Abstract

In this unique study a clinical cohort of children with severe TBI was followed for many years after injury. Most cognitive deficits were found in the early phase of rehabilitation. Most children did improve on cognitive functioning (40%) during the first year after their injury, whereas at follow-up most children had not changed. At follow-up, more than half of the children (54%) attended a regular school or had a regular job, corresponding to their age and pre-morbid functioning.

Assessment of executive functioning in children after TBI with a naturalistic open-ended task: A pilot study

“…Childhood TBI often results in impairments in children's cognitive, behavioural and social functioning, including deficits in memory, attention, speed of processing, executive functioning and social skills [4][5][6][7][8]. Those deficits often have a significant and longstanding impact on the child's everyday functioning, communication skills, behaviour, adaptive functioning, social interactions, academic achievement, as well as poorer participation in society, difficulty maintaining employment and social relationships [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

School reentry for children with acquired central nervous systems injuries

“…The impact of acquired CNS injury on cognitive, language, behavior, sensory, and motor function is well documented in outcome studies [Vogel et al, 1998;Anderson et al, 2002;Schwartz et al, 2003;Anderson et al, 2004;Hawley, 2004;Hooper et al, 2004;Jonsson et al, 2004;Levin et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2004;Ewing-Cobbs et al, 2006;van Heugten et al, 2006;Taylor et al, 2008]. Impairment in one or more of these areas presents a challenge to returning to school following hospitalization or medical treatment.…”

Adult outcomes of pediatric traumatic brain injury

“…This is true for the post-acute phase, but is equally important in the very long term. Though cognitive deficits usually improve during the 2 years post-injury in children, recovery plateaus after this time and remaining deficits will continue to impact on functioning into adulthood [26,27]. Survivors of pediatric TBI may even appear to make a full recovery in the initial stages post-injury, with "latent" TBI symptoms emerging only months or even years after injury as later developmental milestones are attained [28].…”