Chronic language deficits in children treated for posterior fossa tumour

Abstract

Twenty children who had been treated for posterior fossa tumour at least 12 months before the present study were administered a comprehensive battery of language tests. Six children experienced surgery as the only form of tumour treatment while 14 children received CNS prophylaxis following craniotomy. When compared with a group of 20 matched control subjects, the children treated for tumour demonstrated a mild language impairment in the areas of auditory comprehension, oral expression and high level language abilities. Confrontation naming, rapid naming and word fluency abilities of tumour subjects were not significantly different from controls. Results are discussed with reference to tumour type, age at diagnosis, hydrocephalus, tumour treatment and academic implications.