Affiliations: [a] Brain Injury Rehabilitation Team, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada | [b] Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Sara Stevens, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, 150 Kilgour Road, Toronto, ON, Canada. Tel.: +1 416 425 6220 ext. 6474; E-mail: sstevens@hollandbloorview.ca.
Abstract: PURPOSE: To describe language-based neuropsychological outcomes following brain injury in two pediatric populations commonly treated in rehabilitation settings, namely severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) and stroke secondary to arteriovenous malformation (AVM). METHODS: Investigated were children between the ages of 6 and 16 who were admitted to a brain injury rehabilitation program in a pediatric rehabilitation hospital and who were diagnosed with a left-sided sTBI (n= 16; mean age = 13.2) or a left-hemispheric stroke secondary to AVM (n= 16, mean age = 10.7). Groups were compared on demographic information, as well as general cognitive and language-based neuropsychological measures, controlling for age. RESULTS: Children in the AVM group presented with greater deficits, at trend levels, relative to the sTBI group on measures of working memory, verbal fluency, and an aphasia screening tool. CONCLUSIONS: This study represents an initial step in understanding the language-based neuropsychological outcomes of children diagnosed with sTBI compared to those with stroke secondary to AVM, which will help inform the rehabilitation process. With this knowledge, clinicians, families, and educators will be better equipped to provide informed individual rehabilitation programs, recommendations, and education for children and adolescents with brain injuries.
