Medulloblastoma: factors influencing the educational potential of surviving children

Twenty-five children with a histological diagnosis of medulloblastoma operated upon in our unit and who had then been treated with identical radiotherapy regimes were studied in an attempt to determine the academic potential of children who survive for more than two years following their initial presentation. Fourteen children were attending a mainstream school at which they required no special help or remedial classes and were in the appropriate year for their age while eleven required special help with their schooling. Seven of these attended a mainstream school, but required remedial classes for help with reading, writing and arithmetic while two were in a class a year below what would have normally been expected for their age group. Two children attended a special school for children with learning difficulties. These differences in academic potential can be related to the age of the child at presentation and the presence or absence of postoperative complications.