Long-Term School Outcomes of Children and Adolescents With Traumatic Brain Injury.
Mary R Prasad, Paul R Swank, Linda Ewing-Cobbs
PMID 26828713WHAT IT FOUND
Children with severe TBI need school support services immediately.
Those with mild or moderate injuries often appear fine at two years but require comparable support by six years post-injury. Monitor academic performance long-term, not just at discharge.
Key findings
01Children with severe TBI received significantly more school support services than healthy or orthopedic injury controls, but rates did not differ significantly between severe and complicated-mild/moderate TBI groups.
02Students with complicated-mild/moderate TBI were less likely to receive support services two years post-injury, but those assessed six years post-injury had rates of school services comparable to students with severe TBI.
03Younger age at injury was associated with lower functional academic skills and higher rates of placement in self-contained classrooms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study design is cross-sectional, comparing different children at different time points rather than following the same individuals over time. This makes it difficult to definitively state that individual children worsened or improved, only that older cohorts had higher service rates. Parents in this study received regular reports and recommendations from the research team, which may have helped them advocate for services. This could mean the study overestimates the rate of school support services compared to typical practice where families lack this professional guidance. The sample size was small, particularly for the complicated-mild/moderate TBI group, which reduced statistical power to detect certain interactions. Teacher ratings were not collected, so school competency was based solely on parental report, which may differ from how teachers perceive the child's performance.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose. The study was supported by N.I.H., Extramural funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a child with mild or moderate TBI who is doing well at two years post-injury will continue to do well. This study found that these children eventually required school support services at rates comparable to children with severe TBI by six years post-injury.