Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on July 13, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2007 32(3):354-369; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsl019
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Children’s Attentional Skills 5 Years Post-TBI
1 Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychology Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, 2 Royal Children’s Hospital, 3 University of Melbourne, 4 Alfred Hospital, and, 5 Monash University, Melbourne
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Cathy Catroppa, PhD, Department of Psychology, Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. E-mail: cathy.catroppa{at}mcri.edu.au/ catroppc{at}tpg.com.au.
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Abstract |
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Objective While a small number of research papers have reported findings on attentional deficits following pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), no study to date has reported findings in this area at 5 years post-TBI in very young children. This study examined attentional skills in a group of children who had sustained a mild, moderate, or severe TBI between the ages of 2 and 7 years. Methods The sample comprised 70 children, 54 of these had sustained a TBI and 16 the non-injured control group. Children were assessed 5 years post-TBI, with focus on tests of attentional ability. Results Attentional and processing speed (PS) deficits do occur and persist up to 5 years post-TBI, particularly following severe TBI in early childhood. Predictors of attentional outcomes varied depending on the component of attention investigated. Conclusions Those skills developing or emerging at time of injury (e.g., sustained attention, shifting attention, divided attention, PS) are more compromised and may not develop at a normal rate of post-injury.
Key words: attention; children; traumatic brain injury.
Received November 17, 2005; revision received March 14, 2006; accepted May 31, 2006