Recipients of the Award for Excellence in Quality of Life Research
Elana Farace, Ph.D.
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
2002 Award for Excellence In Quality of Life Research
Society for Neuro-Oncology Award supported by The Sontag Foundation
Merit Award: $2,000
About Dr. Farace's Research:
Relationship of Neurocognitive Deficits to Educational Sequelae in Pediatric Brain Tumor Patients
This project was designed to determine patterns of neurocognitive deficits in pediatric brain tumor patients and to explore how schools provide educational services to these children. A neuropsychological battery was administered to 20 pediatric brain tumor patients (7 girls, 13 boys ages 4-21) to determine neurocognitive deficits in the areas of intelligence, memory, problem-solving skills, cognitive flexibility, manual dexterity and attention. Eighteen patients were treated with surgical resection, three patients had radiation, three had chemotherapy. All patients had survived at least two years. Although average IQ in this group was in the normal range, consistent with previous reports, 95% of the children showed at least one statistically significant neuropsychological deficit compared to population norms. However, schools did not provide appropriate special education services for 77% of these children, by misclassifying patients' learning disability and not considering neuropsychological deficits in the educational treatment plan. Four children had actually been denied school attendance. Even in the setting of normal IQ, almost all patients showed specific neurocognitive deficits, suggesting that a neuropsychological battery is needed to better understand patients' educational needs. A majority of pediatric brain tumor patients were placed in school-based programs that did not address their true cognitive or learning deficits, limiting access to appropriate intervention. Patients' lack of improvement in cognitive function is counter to schools' normal developmental model.
