Article

OBJECTIVE: To investigate language outcomes of TBI in preschool-aged children.
Competent early language skills are pivotal for the future development of
literacy skills. While previous research has reported that traumatic brain injury
(TBI) places children at risk of language impairments, the majority of these
studies have been conducted with school-aged children. SETTING: Royal Children's
Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged 4 to 6 years who had
sustained a mild (N = 19) or moderate/severe (N = 16) TBI prior to 3 years of age
and a control group (N = 20) of typically developing children matched for age,
gender, and socioeconomic status. MAIN MEASURES: The Wechsler Preschool and
Primary School Scale of Intelligence, Third Edition, measured Verbal IQ. The
Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool version and the Bus Story
Test measured language skills. RESULTS: More severely injured children displayed
greater impairments in verbal intellectual abilities and language skills compared
with children with mild TBI and uninjured children. Children with mild TBI
performed similarly to children in the control group. CONCLUSION: Language
appears vulnerable to TBI and should be investigated as a matter of course in
clinical assessments of TBI recovery.

Langue : ANGLAIS