Attentional ability among survivors of leukaemia

Attentional ability in 19 survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and 19 sibling controls was assessed using a neuropsychological model of attentio n. Analysis revealed that children who had received treatment for leukaemia exhibited significantly poorer performance on measures of the "focus encod e" and "focus execute" elements of attention and on measures of the ability to respond to external cues acid feedback. No significant differences in p erformance were found for measures of sustained attention and the ability t o shift attention. These results indicate that children who have received t reatment for leukaemia may experience highly specific attentional deficits that could have an impact on academic performance, particularly mathematica l and reading skills. It is suggested that this underlying attentional defi cit might be the source of the neuropsychological sequelae associated with the disease. Future attempts at remediation should incorporate activities s pecifically designed to ameliorate focusing difficulties.