A prospective analysis of the recovery of attention following pediatric head injury

Little is known about specific attentional sequelae following a closed head injury, their pattern of recovery or their interaction with ongoing develo pment. The present study examined attentional abilities in a group of child ren who had sustained a mild, moderate, or severe head injury. Results show ed that the severe head injury group exhibited greater deficits on a number of attentional measures at acute and 6 months postinjury phases, in compar ison to children in the mild and moderate head injury groups. Specifically, deficits were most evident on timed tasks where speed of processing was an integral component. Difficulties persisted to at least 6 months postinjury and so may lead to cumulative deficits over time.