The Impact on Behaviours of Children and Adolescents with a Life Threatening Brain Injury

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ABSTRACT

The core emotional issue that families both on the individual and systemic level deal with, when a child is suffering with life threatening brain injury is loss. The world as the family once knew it is no longer the same safe or secure place. The purpose of this study is to understand the influences of a life threatening illness on the behaviour and life style of adolescence and children.

TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACTii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Research Question1

Research Purpose2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW3

Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury3

Behavioural Functioning3

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY6

Research Design6

Data Collection7

REFERENCES9

APPENDICES12

Appendix A: Participant Consent form12

Appendix B: Questionnaire Survey14

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Traumatic brain injury in childhood has been associated with significant long-term impairments in intellectual functioning, language and communicative skills, and executive and memory abilities (Chamberlain, 2006, p. 407). Given the high potential for the trauma to affect the orbito-frontal and anterior temporal regions, moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries are most commonly related to attentional deficits, slowed cognitive processing/responding, impaired learning and retrieval, auditory-visual processing deficits, executive, and motor deficits (Anderson et al. 2005, p. 1374). In addition to examining neuropsychological outcomes after brain injury, researchers have highlighted long-term behavioural and social deficits in these children after controlling for differences in cognitive functioning (Anderson, Jacobs & Harvey, 2005, p. 817). The general pattern of results indicates that children with traumatic brain injuries experience a myriad of social, behavioural and adaptive sequelae that cannot be accounted for by neuropsychological deficits alone.

Research Question

What are the influences of a life threatening illness on the behaviour and life style of adolescence and their families?

Research Purpose

To investigate the influence of life threatening illness on the lifestyle and behaviour of children and adolescents.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury

Early onset brain injury creates an especially high personal and societal burden because the impairments may last throughout the lifespan. However, knowledge relating brain dysfunction to outcomes is limited (Wade et al. 2002, p. 96). Improved understanding of the outcomes following childhood damage to specific brain regions can provide a window into the neuro-cognitive mechanisms underlying academic processes and the disruption of these processes that result in developmental learning disorders (Anderson et al. 2005, p. 1374). Although numerous studies have focused on understanding the neuropsychology of reading, spelling, and arithmetic, researchers are just beginning to understand the neuropsychological underpinnings of these processes. Further exploration of brain development following focal lesions in childhood has the potential to bolster this literature and ultimately provide insight into remediation strategies for individuals who struggle with learning (Anderson, Jacobs & Harvey, 2005, p. 817).

Behavioural Functioning Behavioural consequences of childhood TBI include impulsivity, irritability, agitation, confusion, apathy, and emotional liability (Arroyos-Jurado et al. 2006, p. 125). Additionally, children sustaining TBI often experience a multitude of functional deficits, including declines in school performance, loss of peer relationships, and increased dependence in daily living skills (Khan, Baguley and Cameron, 2003, p. 290). When evaluating working memory and executive functioning following TBI, behavioural ...