Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 30, 2026
Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
Cognitive Intervention for Attention and Executive Function Impairments in Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: A
Amery Treble-Barna1, McKay Moore Sohlberg, Beth E Harn
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (Dr Treble-Barna); Communication Disorders and Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (Dr Sohlberg); Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (Dr Harn); Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (Dr Wade).
Insights
The Attention Improvement and Management (AIM) program showed promise in enhancing attention and executive functions (EFs) in children post-traumatic brain injury (TBI). This cognitive intervention led to significant improvements in sustained attention and parent-reported EFs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neuropsychology
- Cognitive Rehabilitation
- Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Background:
- Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results in lasting attention and executive function (EF) deficits.
- Effective interventions are crucial for improving functional outcomes in children with TBI.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of the Attention Improvement and Management (AIM) program.
- To assess AIM's impact on attention and executive functions in children with TBI.
Main Methods:
- An open-label pilot study involving 13 children with TBI and 11 healthy controls.
- Cognitive assessments included the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS).
- Parent-reported executive functions were measured using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF).
Main Results:
- Children with TBI showed significant improvements in sustained attention post-AIM intervention.
- Parents reported notable improvements in their children's executive functions after the program.
- Most families achieved or exceeded personalized goal attainment targets.
Conclusions:
- The AIM program offers preliminary evidence of effectiveness for improving EFs in children with TBI.
- AIM demonstrates potential for enhancing real-world functional outcomes and goal attainment in pediatric TBI survivors.
Objective:
To test the effectiveness of the Attention Improvement and Management (AIM) program, a cognitive intervention for improving impairments in attention and executive functions (EFs) after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Setting:
Tertiary care children's hospital.
Participants:
A total of 13 children with complicated mild-to-severe TBI (average of 5 years postinjury) and 11 healthy comparison children aged 9 to 15 years completed the study.
Design:
Open-label pilot study with a nontreated control group.
Main Measures:
Subtests from the Test of Everyday Attention-for Children (TEA-Ch) and the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), the self- and parent-report from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS).
Results:
Relative to the healthy comparison group, children with TBI demonstrated significant improvement postintervention on a neuropsychological measure of sustained attention, as well as on parent-reported EFs. The majority of families also reported expected or more-than-expected personalized goal attainment.
Conclusions:
The study provides preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of AIM in improving parent-reported EFs and personalized real-world goal attainment in children with TBI.
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