Objective To examine cognitive predictors of academic achievement in young children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and orthopedic injury (OI) shortly after injury and 1 year post-injury. Methods Participants included 3 to 6 year old children, 63 with TBI (46 with moderate TBI and 17 with severe TBI) and a comparison group of 80 children with OI. Academic achievement was assessed approximately 1 month and 12 months post injury, using three subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Third Edition and the School Readiness Composite from the Bracken Basic Concepts Scale-Revised. General intellectual functioning, memory, and executive functions were measured at the initial assessment using standardized tests. Results Hierarchical linear regression was used to predict academic achievement at the initial and 1-year follow-up assessments. Memory and executive functions were significant predictors of academic achievement at both assessments, after controlling for group membership and demographic variables. Executive function remained a significant predictor of some outcomes after taking general intellectual functioning into account. Predictive relationships did not vary across the TBI and OI groups. Similar results were obtained when regression analyses were completed with only TBI participants using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score as a predictor, although memory and executive functioning were somewhat less robust in predicting academic achievement than before. Conclusions Both memory and executive function predict academic achievement following TBI in preschool children, although some of the associations may be accounted for by general intellectual functioning.

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Behavioral problems are common after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), but poorly understood. In this article we review ten common behavioral problems observed in children after TBI and consider the factors that appear to contribute to their expression. Both neurological and non-neurological variables can interact in a complicated way to produce behavioral problems in school-age children following TBI. We conclude with suggestions for the management and treatment of these behavioral problems in a manner that hopefully will reduce parental distress and disruptive behaviors of the child in school.