Describing the attention profile of children and adolescents with acquired brain injury using the Virtual Classroom

作者：Gilboa Yafit^*; Kerrouche Bernadette; Longaud Vales Audrey; Kieffer Virginie; Tiberghien Anne; Aligon Delphine; Mariller Aude; Mintegui Amaia; Canizares Celine; Abada Genevieve; Chevignard Mathilde Paule

来源：Brain Injury, 2015, 29(13-14): 1691-1700.

DOI：10.3109/02699052.2015.1075148

• Attention deficits
• brain tumour
• ecological assessment
• traumatic brain injury
• virtual reality

Objectives: The objectives of the study were: (1) to describe the attention deficits profile of children with significant acquired brain injury (ABI) in comparison to matched controls, using the virtual classroom (VC); (2) to assess the utility of the VC in detecting attention deficits in children with ABI, as compared to classical neuropsychological tests and questionnaire-based assessment of attention; and (3) to determine how performance in the VC is affected by demographic and injury severity variables.Methods: Forty-one children with ABI and 35 age- and gender-matched controls, aged 8-16, were assessed with the VC. The results of the VC were compared to sub-tests of the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch), the Conners' Parent Rating Scales-Revised: Short (CPRS-R:S) questionnaire and analysed according to demographic and injury severity variables.Results: Significant differences were found between the groups regarding the number of targets correctly identified in the VC. Significant inter-correlations were obtained between the VC variables. Significant correlations were found between the VC variables, the sub-tests of TEA-Ch and the CPRS-R:S and the demographic characteristics of the sample.Conclusion: The VC appears to be a sensitive and ecologically valid assessment tool for use in the diagnosis of attention deficits among children with ABI.

• 出版日期2015-12-6