What’s Withdrawal Got to Do with It?: Examination of Functional Communication Problems Contributing to Withdrawal in Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy
Abstract number :
3.363
Submission category :
11. Behavior/Neuropsychology/Language / 11B. Pediatrics
Year :
2022
Submission ID :
2204974
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/5/2022 12:00:00 PM
Published date :
Nov 22, 2022, 05:27 AM
Authors :
Szimonetta Mulati, PhD – Boston Children's Hospital; Moshe Maiman, PhD – Boston Children's Hospital; Trey Moore, BS – Boston Children's Hospital; Song Dam, BS – Boston Children's Hospital; Alena Hornak, BS – Boston Children's Hospital; William Schraegle, PhD – 3- Dell Medical School/Dell Children’s Medical Center; Katrina Boyer, PhD – Boston Children's Hospital; Clemente Vega, PsyD – Boston Children's Hospital; Melissa tsuboyama, MD – Boston Children's Hospital; Jeffrey Bolton, MD – Boston Children's Hospital; Philip Pearl, MD – Boston Children's Hospital; Alyssa Ailion, PhD – Boston Children's Hospital
Rationale: Children with epilepsy exhibit higher rates of withdrawal, internalizing problems, and reduced quality of life (Puka and Smith, 2016). The etiology of withdrawal is unclear and may be related to factors such as expressive language or social skills deficits. Therefore, the present study investigates whether language and functional communication problems may be related to withdrawal in youth with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) to ultimately cater intervention services to improve quality of life.
Methods: Retrospective medical records review identified 31 children with TLE and neuropsychological assessment (age: M=13.76, SD = 4.34) at Boston Children’s Hospital who underwent a Phase I Epilepsy Surgical Evaluation. We included all patients with a completed parent ratings of emotional-behavioral status on the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 3rd Edition (BASC-3) and intelligence using the age-appropriate Wechsler scale (n=29). We investigated correlations among BASC-3 subscales and verbal reasoning abilities to better understand the relationship between language difficulties and withdrawal.
Results: Pearson correlation indicated significant correlations among BASC-3 subscales. Withdrawal was associated with functional communication (r=0.55, p< .01) and adaptive functioning (r=.56, p< .01). We found a negative correlation with verbal IQ (VIQ) and withdrawal in older children (WAIS-IV), such that withdrawal symptoms were higher in adolescents and young adults with lower verbal ability (n=11; r=.44, p< .05). The same relationship was not found for perceptual reasoning (r=.05, p>.05). Withdrawal symptoms were particularly high in individuals with VIQ< 85.
Behavior