Ecological prospective memory assessment in children with acquired brain injury using the Children’s Cooking Task

Krasny-Pacini, Agata; Servant, Violette; Alzieu, Christine; Chevignard, Mathilde · 2017 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3109/17518423.2015.1058298

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Summary

This study investigates prospective memory (PM) impairments in children with acquired brain injury (ABI) using an ecologically valid assessment tool, the Children’s Cooking Task (CCT). PM, the ability to remember to perform intended actions in the future, is critical for daily functioning and relies on executive functions and frontal lobe integrity. While previous research established PM deficits in children with ABI, most assessments utilized non-ecological, office-based tasks that may not reflect real-world capabilities. This research aimed to determine if children with ABI exhibit PM impairment on the CCT compared to typically developing peers and to assess whether CCT PM scores are sensitive to developmental changes in both groups. The study included 54 children with ABI (aged 8–20) and 33 typically developing controls. Participants were divided into three age groups. The CCT required children to prepare a chocolate cake and a fruit cocktail following a recipe, with four embedded PM tasks: making the cocktail after the cake, placing dirty dishes in the sink, disposing of rubbish, and notifying the examiner of task completion. Performance was scored based on spontaneous execution or response to cues. Additionally, a subset of ABI participants completed two PM subtests of the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT). Statistical analyses included Mann-Whitney U tests for group comparisons and Spearman correlations for relationships between variables. Results indicated that children with ABI had significantly lower CCT PM scores (mean 8.6/12) than controls (mean 11.1/12) and committed significantly more errors overall. Children with ABI also exhibited higher rates of dangerous behaviors and required more adult intervention. In typically developing children, PM performance improved significantly with age, suggesting maturation of these skills by age 14. In contrast, children with ABI did not show significant developmental improvements in PM scores across age groups, although older children with ABI performed similarly to younger controls. Notably, 44% of children with ABI failed to complete PM tasks even after non-specific cues, compared to only 6% of controls. There was no significant correlation between CCT PM scores and RBMT subtest scores in the ABI group, highlighting a discrepancy between ecological and laboratory-based assessments. The findings confirm that PM is severely impaired in children with ABI in naturalistic settings, a deficit that persists despite age-related maturation seen in typically developing peers. The lack of correlation between the CCT and RBMT suggests that standard neuropsychological tests may fail to capture functional PM deficits relevant to daily life. The authors conclude that ecologically valid assessments like the CCT should be integrated into clinical evaluations to better identify and address the real-world memory challenges faced by children with ABI.

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• prospective memory interruptions