Visual-spatial functioning as an early indicator of socioemotional difficulties

Abstract

Primary objective: As children with acquired brain injuries (ABI) mature to become adolescents they develop a range of previously undetected social and emotional difficulties, which are commonly associated with executive dysfunctions. The authors wanted to determine whether visual-spatial performance is subject to age-related improvement, whether such skills can differentiate between children with ABI and healthy children and whether visual-spatial performance is a correlate of socioemotional functioning.

Research design: The ‘Cube analysis’ and ‘Dot discrimination’ tests from the ‘Visual Object Space Perception (VOSP)’ battery and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were administered for 18 children, 9–15 years, with ABI and compared against 67 ‘healthy’ children.

Results: Cube analysis scores improved significantly at ∼10 years old in the control group. The ABI group performed the task significantly poorer than controls. Analysis indicated that visual discrimination skill did not account for performance difficulties. Visual-spatial performance was correlated with greater impact of reported difficulties on the SDQ.

Conclusions: Visual-spatial tests are sensitive in differentiating between healthy children and children with ABI. Impairment of visuo-spatial skills may provide an index of psychosocial risk during later teenage years and adulthood.

• Paediatrics
• Brain injury
• Executive function
• Visual-Spatial performance
• Behaviour
• Socioemotional difficulties