Executive functioning deficits are prominent in children with epilepsy. Although instruments, such as the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), are useful in detecting executive dysfunction in school-age children with epilepsy, little data are available for younger children. The present study evaluates the ability of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) to detect executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy. Parents of 51 clinically referred children with epilepsy (age: M = 1.99 years, SD = 1.29 years, range = 2-5 years) completed the BRIEF-P. Using a cutoff t score of ≥65 as the threshold for impairment, the BRIEF-P's ability to detect executive dysfunction within this clinical population was established. Additionally, correlational analyses were used to assess the relations between epilepsy severity factors and BRIEF-P indices. Epilepsy severity variables that were significantly related to BRIEF-P indices were entered into a linear regression model to explore their predictive ability. Emergent metacognition (emergent metacognition index [EMI]; 59%) and the global executive composite (43%) were the most frequently elevated indices. The most commonly elevated subscales were working memory (65%), inhibition (37%), and planning/organization (35%). Age of seizure onset, seizure frequency, and number of antiepileptic drugs were not significantly correlated with BRIEF-P indices. However, children with lower intellectual ability were rated as having greater executive dysfunction, specifically with EMI (r = -.30). Still, intellectual functioning only accounted for a small percentage (9%) of the variance in EMI scores. The current pilot study demonstrates that the BRIEF-P shows promise in identifying executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy.

Objective This study sought to broaden the findings of the current research on the relationship between late and moderate preterm (LAMP) birth and long-term neurocognitive outcomes, specifically those related to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). LAMP children were compared to term-born children on rates of ADHD prevalence and neurocognitive functioning. Method This cross-sectional study included 169 patients, ages 8–12 years, who completed neuropsychological evaluation; 30.2% were female, 37.87% identified with a non-White racial group, 36.7% were Medicaid, 18.34% had in-utero exposure to substances, 40.8% were LAMP, 9.47% were born following pre-eclampsia, 21.3% required intensive care at birth, and 51.5% had ADHD family history. Measures of intellectual functioning (IQ), attention, working memory (WM), executive functioning (EF), and processing speed were derived from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition, Conners Continuous Performance Test, Second and Third Editions (CPT-2/CPT-3), Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, and NEPSY, Second Edition. Results ADHD prevalence was similar between LAMP (79.7%) and term-born children (75%), as were neurocognitive outcomes. Interestingly, no significant differences in performance-based WM or EF were observed between those with and without ADHD; inattention (CPT-2/CPT-3 Omissions) was the only performance-based measure that was significantly higher among those with ADHD (M = 61.93, SD = 15.35) than those without (M = 54.31, SD = 11.27), t(165) = −3.38, p < 0.01, 95% CI [−12.11, −3.13]. Conclusion(s) Prevalence of ADHD and measured neurocognitive outcomes were not significantly different between LAMP and term-born children. This affirms the multifactorial etiological pathways to ADHD and supports ADHD as a heterogenous neurocognitive presentation.