Neurobehavioral outcomes in spina bifida: Processes versus outcomes

Date

2008-01

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Publisher

Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine

Abstract

We review neurobehavioral outcomes and interventions for children with spina bifida. Focusing on children with spina bifida myelomeningocele, we contrast historical views of outcomes based on comparisons across content domains (e.g., language versus visual perceptual skills) with a view based on overarching processes that underlie strengths and weakness within content domains. Thus, we suggest that children with SBM have strengths when the skill involves the capacity to retrieve information from semantic memory and generate material that has been associatively linked or learned (associative processing) and general difficulties on tasks that require the construction or integration of a response (assembled processing). We use a hypothetical case to illustrate the differences in content domains versus general processes and also identify interventions that may be effective in addressing some of the cognitive and behavioral difficulties experienced variably by people with SBM. We extend these general principles to a discussion of variability in outcomes and use data from a large sample of children with spina bifida to illustrate the basis for this variability.

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Citation

Copyright 2008 Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. This is a post-print version of a published paper that is available at: https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-pediatric-rehabilitation-medicine/prm00048. Recommended citation: Fletcher, Jack M., Kathryn K. Ostermaier, Paul T. Cirino, and Dennis Maureen. "Neurobehavioral Outcomes in Spina Bifida: Processes Versus Outcomes." Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine 1, no. 4 (2008): 311-324. This item has been deposited in accordance with publisher copyright and licensing terms and with the author's permission.