TBI in Early Childhood: Impact of Early Intervention on Childhood Development Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a growing concern for children in their preschool years. Children of young ages undergo many developmental changes during the ages of two through five. These changes are significant for their growth and maturity. They include cognitive, social, and behavioral development as well as development in executive functioning. Sustaining a traumatic brain injury during these years can pose as a direct risk of developmental deficits in any or all of these areas. After an extensive literature review, it was found that most of the previous research resulted in areas of consensus. These areas compare the how TBI severity and the age of the TBI effect developmental. Results from multiple studies show that the more sever the TBI, the more prevalent the developmental deficiencies (Gerrard-Morris, A., Taylor, H., Yeates, K., Walz, N., Stancin, T., Minich, N., & Wade, S., 2009; McKinlay, A., Grace, R., Horward, L., Fergusson, D., & MacFarlane, M., 2008; Morse, S., Haritou, F., Ong, K., Anderson, V., Catroppa, C., & Rosenfeld, J., 1999; Taylor, H., Swartwout, M., Yeates, K., Walz, N., Stancin, T., & Wade, S., 2008). It is also found that children injured in early childhood are more vulnerable to developmental deficits, According to Taylor et. al (2008), a younger age at the time of injury is a predictor of worse outcomes. Although many researchers in this field have shared the previous findings, there have also been gaps in research on the topic of childhood TBI and development. Certain discrepancies include effects of family characteristics on development following TBI, and effects of TBI on language performance. Previous research has included child and family demographic information when assessing a possible relationship with TBI recovery, however, most of these
References: American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.