Working memory following improvements in articulation rate in children with cerebral palsy

Differential Impacts of Sentence Length on Speech Rate in Two Groups of Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders

PURPOSE

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sentence length on speech rate and its characteristics, articulation rate, and pauses in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

METHOD

Nine children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) and seven children diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS) repeated sentences varying in length from two to seven words. Children were between the ages of 8 and 17 years. Dependent variables included speech rate, articulation rate, and proportion of time spent pausing.

RESULTS

For children with CP, there was a significant effect of sentence length for speech rate and articulation rate but not for the proportion of time spent pausing. In general, the longest sentences were produced with a faster speech and articulation rate than the shortest sentences. For children with DS, there was a significant effect of sentence length for the proportion of time spent pausing but not for speech rate or articulation rate. In general, children with DS spent significantly more time pausing in the longest sentences, particularly seven-word sentences, than in any other sentence length.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary findings include the following: (a) Articulation rate and pause time are differentially impacted by sentence length, and (b) children with CP and children with DS respond differently to increases in cognitive-linguistic load.

Characteristics of Speech Rate in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Longitudinal Study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the effect of time and sentence length on speech rate and its characteristics, articulation rate and pauses, within 2 groups of children with cerebral palsy (CP).

METHOD

Thirty-four children with CP, 18 with no speech motor involvement and 16 with speech motor involvement, produced sentences of varying lengths at 3 time points that were 1 year apart (mean age = 56 months at first time point). Dependent measures included speech rate, articulation rate, proportion of time spent pausing, and average number and duration of pauses.

RESULTS

There were no significant effects of time. For children with no speech motor involvement, speech rate increased with longer sentences due to increased articulation rate. For children with speech motor involvement, speech rate did not change with sentence length due to significant increases in the proportion of time spent pausing and average number of pauses in longer sentences.

CONCLUSIONS

There were no significant age-related differences in speech rate in children with CP regardless of group membership. Sentence length differentially impacted speech rate and its characteristics in both groups of children with CP. This may be due to cognitive-linguistic and/or speech motor control factors.

DTI correlates of cognition in term children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Presently, there is no published study that shows association between cognition and white matter injury in spastic cerebral palsy. We aimed to correlate cognitive functions with diffusion tensor imaging derived metrics in spastic diplegic children.

METHODS

Twenty-two term children with spastic diplegia and 22 healthy controls were recruited. All patients were graded on the basis of gross motor function. The Indian children intelligence Test was used to quantify cognition and diffusion tensor imaging was used to quantify microstructural changes in various white matter regions. Diffusion tensor imaging metrics were quantified by placing regions of interests in different white matter regions like corona radiata, anterior limb of internal capsule, posterior limb of internal capsule, mid brain, pons, medulla, genu, splenium, temporal white matter, parietal white matter, frontal white matter and occipital white matter.

RESULTS

Spastic diplegic children showed significantly lower neuropsychological test scores as compared to controls. A significantly decreased fractional anisotropy values were observed in corona radiata, anterior limb of internal capsule, posterior limb of internal capsule, mid brain, pons, medulla, genu, splenium and occipital white matter; however significantly increased mean diffusivity values were observed in corona radiata, anterior limb of internal capsule, posterior limb of internal capsule, mid brain, pons and genu in spastic diplegic as compared to controls. A significant positive correlation in fractional anisotropy and negative correlation in mean diffusivity was observed with neuropsychological test scores.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that these imaging metrics may be used as a biomarker of cognitive functions in term children with spastic diplegia.

Traumatic brain injury in childhood: rehabilitation considerations

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this review were to: (i) briefly outline common sequelae following childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI); (ii) provide a summary of models and research in the area of intervention; (iii) discuss issues and obstacles in the evaluation of research in the area of intervention; (vi) discuss integrative and translational aspects of research in this area; (v) provide an example of intervention studies being conducted in the laboratory; and (vii) highlight the need for continued and collaborative work in the paediatric intervention field.

CONCLUSIONS

When reviewing the literature, it is clear that while challenging, the development and evaluation of intervention programs for children post traumatic brain injury, must be encourage and pursued. This in turn will lead to improved quality of life for these children and their families.

Neuropsychologic impairment in bilateral cerebral palsy

The lower-than-average cognitive performance of individuals with bilateral cerebral palsy found in previous studies does not always refer to an abnormal performance or clinically significant impairment. We aimed to establish the percentage of persons with bilateral cerebral palsy who present neuropsychologic impairment, and its relationship to perinatal data and motor signs. Forty children, adolescents, and adults (age range, 6-38 years; 15 females and 25 males) with bilateral cerebral palsy were neuropsychologically assessed. Vocabulary was impaired in 85% of participants, language comprehension in 13-48%, visuoperceptual abilities in 60%, visuospatial abilities in 90%, short-term memory in 21-58%, declarative memory in 47-67%, and praxis comprehension in 20%, with executive deficits in 58-74%. Perinatal data (intrauterine growth and birth weight) contributed to explaining memory impairment. Among cerebral palsy subtypes (spastic, mixed, and dyskinetic), forms of impairment differed only in short-term verbal memory. No persons with dyskinetic cerebral palsy experienced impairment in immediate memory or working visual memory. We conclude that visuospatial deficit is the most frequent impairment in people with bilateral cerebral palsy. Moreover, short-term memory impairment seems sensitive to perinatal complications, and differs among bilateral cerebral palsy subtypes.

Neuropsychologic differences between bilateral dyskinetic and spastic cerebral palsy

This study compared the neuropsychologic performance of 30 adolescents and adults with bilateral dyskinetic, mixed, and spastic cerebral palsy aged between 16 and 38 years. The sample was relatively homogeneous in terms of motor severity; no patients were able to walk unaided. In all subjects, we evaluated the general function of nonverbal reasoning and the following specific neuropsychologic areas: language, visual perception, memory, praxis, and frontal functions. Individuals with dyskinetic cerebral palsy had better auditory comprehension, visuospatial abilities, immediate visual memory, and working verbal memory than those with spastic cerebral palsy. Frontal function was the only cognitive function on which subjects with dyskinetic cerebral palsy had lower scores. We conclude that the neuropsychologic profiles of dyskinetic and spastic cerebral palsy are different.