Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Publication
    The Role of Family Functioning in the Development of Executive Functions in Preschool Children with Sickle Cell Anemia
    Executive functions are compromised in children with sickle cell anemia. There is limited research on the development of executive functions in preschool children with sickle cell anemia and the factors that contribute to executive dysfunction. We looked at the relation between biomedical and environmental factors, including family functioning and socioeconomic status, and executive functions in 22 preschool children with sickle cell anemia. We found that family functioning was the strongest predictor of executive outcomes in young children with sickle cell anemia with no evidence for an influence of disease severity at this early stage.
    Scopus© Citations 2  256
  • Publication
    Altered Neurophysiological Processing of Auditory Attention in Preschool Children With Sickle Cell Disease
    Objective: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic red blood cell disorder that often leads to stroke and executive dysfunction in school-age children and adults. This study aimed to characterize the development of the neural correlates of selective attention, an early component of executive function, in preschool children with SCD. Methods: Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while children attended to a story stream in one ear and ignored a second story in the other ear interchangeably. In total, 12 patients (mean age = 5.5, 7 males) and 22 typically developing children (mean age = 4.4, 10 males) were included in the final analyses. Results: By 100 ms, more positive ERP amplitudes were observed for attended relative to unattended stimuli in typically developing children but not those with SCD, suggesting deficits in the ability to focus attention. Reduced attention effects were associated with lower performance intellectual quotient Conclusion: There are deficits in early attention modulation in young children with SCD.
    Scopus© Citations 8  330
  • Publication
    Assessment of Executive Functions in Preschool Children with Sickle Cell Anemia
    Objectives: Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) are commonly reported to experience executive dysfunction. However, the development of executive function (EF) in preschool-age children without stroke in this patient population has not been investigated so it is unclear when and how these deficits emerge. Methods: This case-control study examines the feasibility of assessing the early development of executive functioning in 22 preschool children years with SCA in the domains of processing speed, working memory, attention, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility, as well as everyday function, in comparison to matched control children. Results: A pattern of potential deficits in early emerging executive skills was observed in the domains of inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. Parents reported no differences for everyday EF and no significant differences were observed for working memory and processing speed. Conclusions: Results suggest that deficits in everyday executive difficulties, working memory, and processing speed, as commonly reported for older children with SCA, may not yet have emerged at this early developmental stage, despite specific deficits in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control on behavioral measures. The feasibility of using available executive measures with preschool age children to characterize the development of early EF skills is discussed.
    Scopus© Citations 10  306
  • Publication
    Executive performance on the preschool executive task assessment in children with sickle cell anemia and matched controls
    Executive deficits are commonly reported in children with sickle cell anemia. Earlier identification of executive deficits would give more scope for intervention, but this cognitive domain has not been routinely investigated due to a lack of age-appropriate tasks normed for preschool children. In particular, information relating to patient performance on an executive task that reflects an everyday activity in the classroom could provide important insight and practical recommendations for the classroom teacher at this key developmental juncture as they enter the academic domain. The performance of 22 children with sickle cell anemia was compared to 24 matched control children on the Preschool Executive Task Assessment. Findings reveal that children with sickle cell anemia are performing poorer than their matched peers on this multi-step assessment. In particular, children with sickle cell anemia required more structured support to shift focus after a completed step, as reflected by poorer scores in the quantitative Sequencing and Completion domains. They also required more support to stay on task, as seen by poorer ratings in the qualitative Distractibility domain.
    Scopus© Citations 6  374
  • Publication
    Parent reported sleep problems in preschool children with sickle cell anemia and controls in East London
    Snoring and poor sleep may affect cognition, particularly in young children with chronic conditions. Parents of London preschoolers with sickle cell anemia (SCA; n = 22), matched controls (n = 24), and unselected typically developing (n = 142) preschoolers completed sleep questionnaires. Preschoolers with SCA had significantly more sleep problems when compared to matched controls and the larger population. Snoring occurred at least one to two nights a week for 79% of the SCA group. This is compared with 25% of matched controls and 33% of larger population. Randomized controlled trials to improve sleep in young children with SCA already at-risk for cognitive dysfunction should be considered.
      437Scopus© Citations 11