Differences in iq and Memory of Monolingual/Bilingual Children who Suffered a tbi

Factors that Impact Recovery from TBI 
Unfortunately, there have been many inconsistencies among studies that describe 
recovery from neurocognitive impairment following pediatric TBI (Babikian & Asarnow, 
2009). Babikian & Asarnow (2009) state that these inconsistencies occur among studies 
due to differences in age at injury and study design (longitudinal studies versus cross-
sectional studies).  The majority of the literature on the effects of age at injury on TBI has 
been conducted on adults; showing that the older the adult the poorer the recovery and 
the greater the lesions after TBI (Schonberger, Ponsford, Reutens, Beare, & O’Sullivan, 
2009; Senathi-Raja, Ponsford, & Schonberger, 2010). There appears to be an opposite 
effect for the pediatric and adult TBI populations in regards to recovery over time after 

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receiving a TBI. Specifically, they showed the younger age at injury groups had more 
significant score discrepancies over time compared to controls versus older age at injury 
groups. Additionally, Anderson, Morse, Catroppa, Haritou, & Rosenfeld (2004) 
conducted a study looking at outcomes of TBI that occurred in early childhood. The 
subjects were 2-7 years of age when the injury occurred. They completed acute, 12, and 
30-month evaluations. They used the Bayley Infant Scales of Development, Wechsler 
Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), and the Wechsler Intelligence 
Scale for Children 3
rd
edition (WISC-III) to assess for intelligence. These researchers 
found that children who obtained moderate to severe TBI’s did not show improvement 
over time on their verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ) or PIQ scores. Furthermore, they 
showed that recovery of VIQ and/or PIQ is absent if the TBI occurred in early childhood 
(between the ages of 2-7 years old). In general, the little research that is available on 
pediatric TBI has shown that children who incur TBI’s at an early age have poorer 
recovery compared to children who incur a TBI at later ages (Anderson, Morse, 
Catroppa, Haritou, & Rosenfeld, 2004; Anderson & Moore, 1995; Babikian & Asarnow, 
2009).
Designs vary between studies that are looking at the neuropsychological and/or 
neurological effects TBI can have on a person’s cognitive functioning making it difficult 
to compare studies (Babikian & Asarnow, 2009). Some studies focus on only one time 
point while other studies are longitudinal and focus on multiple time points. Some studies 
have subjects complete a neuropsychological battery one week after incurring a TBI 
(Govind et al., 2010), other studies are longitudinal- testing subjects over time (Ewing-
Cobbs et al., 2004), while others look at the predictability that MRI results may have on 

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cognitive functioning over time (Babikian et al., 2006). Lastly, other studies only 
assessed for post traumatic amnesia and focused on MRI results not assessing any other 
neuropsychological deficits that may be occurring (Schonberger, Ponsford, Reutens, 
Beare, & O’Sullivan, 2009). It becomes difficult to attempt to compare studies that may 
have different methodologies, time points of assessment, and subject ages.