Narrative skills of children treated for brain tumours: The impact of tumour and treatment related variables on microstructure and macrostructure

Abstract

Preliminary findings highlight the importance of investigating narrative abilities as part of a comprehensive language assessment. Macrostructure should be routinely examined where children are diagnosed with either posterior fossa tumour or hydrocephalus or have undergone surgery and/or chemotherapy for brain tumour.

Communication and swallowing outcomes of children diagnosed with childhood brain tumor or leukemia: A systematic review

“…Language difficulties ranging in severity and impact were reported in children with CBTL, including problems with general language (eg, vocabulary, syntax), 22–26,34–36,54–57,62,65,68,73–77 specific word‐finding difficulties, 24,54,68 narrative skills, 78 and high‐level language difficulties (eg, metaphors, ambiguity, figurative language) 23,25,26,76,77,79,80 . Literacy skills including preliteracy, reading, writing, and spelling were also identified as areas of weakness in several studies, 23,27,29,35,65,79,81 although one study showed intact reading decoding for children receiving treatment for brain tumor 82 …”

“…A number of studies on language outcomes included between‐group comparisons with a typically developing control group and found no statistically significant differences between groups on some or all measures 25,26,28,69,74,75,77–79,83–85 . However, the ability to interpret group‐level comparisons was often limited due to small sample sizes for the CBTL group (≤17).…”

“…82 A number of studies on language outcomes included betweengroup comparisons with a typically developing control group and found no statistically significant differences between groups on some or all measures. 25,26,28,69,74,75,[77][78][79][83][84][85] However, the ability to interpret group-level comparisons was often limited due to small sample sizes for the CBTL group (≤17). The majority of these studies also included an individual-level analysis and descriptively reported language outcomes, revealing difficulties in some, but not all, children with CBTL.…”

“…The majority of these studies also included an individual-level analysis and descriptively reported language outcomes, revealing difficulties in some, but not all, children with CBTL. 25,26,28,69,74,75,[77][78][79]83 A pattern of persistent communication difficulty in children diagnosed with posterior fossa brain tumors was apparent. This difficulty was characterized by an acute period of mutism that resolved to dysarthria and/or language difficulties.…”

Cognitive and language-based sidabilites of children diagnosed with cancer

“…Deficits in high-level language skills, such as the ability to interpret a respond to a conversation, have been identified in children with tumour in the right cerebellum 17 . In this vein, a focus on the narrative skills of children with brain cancer has been recommended 18 .…”