[Cognitive stimulation in children with cerebral palsy].

INTRODUCTION

Cerebral palsy is often accompanied by cognitive impairment affecting attention, visuoperception, executive functions and working memory. AIMS. To analyse the effect of cognitive stimulation treatment on the cognitive capabilities in children with cerebral palsy.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Our sample consisted of 15 children with cerebral palsy, with a mean age of 8.80 ± 2.51 years, who were classified with the aid of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) on level I (n = 6), level II (n = 4), level III (n = 2) and level V (n = 3). Cognitive impairment was evaluated by means of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT-II). Both the questionnaires for parents and teachers from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and the Conners rating scales (CPRS-48 and CTRS-28) were administered. A cognitive stimulation programme was carried out at a rate of two hours a week for a total of eight weeks.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences were observed after applying the cognitive stimulation treatment in the perceptive reasoning index of the WISC-IV. No differences were obtained on the Conners' and the BRIEF scores before and after the treatment. Neither were any differences found in the results on the WISC-IV according to sex or on the GMFCS.

CONCLUSIONS

The cognitive performance of children with cerebral palsy improves after applying a cognitive rehabilitation programme.