Differences in IQ and Memory of Monolingual/Bilingual Children who Suffered a TBI

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs at an average rate of 180 per 100,000 children who are hospitalized for head injury within the United States (Schwartz et al., 2003). Bilinguals are a large proportion of the population living in the United States and in Southern California, particularly. If children who are bilingual incur a TBI, will they have even more difficulty than monolinguals with language tasks because they have a smaller vocabulary base? This study aims to further elucidate whether verbal memory will be more severely impacted than nonverbal memory in this same bilingual pediatric TBI population. 18 children (M age =11.67 years (SD =3.7), 61% males, 50% bilingual) were assessed as part of a longitudinal study evaluating neuropsychological outcomes in moderate/ severe pediatric TBI at 3 m (Time 1) & 12 m (Time 2) post-injury. Multiple mixed design ANCOVA\u27s were conducted in order to assess differences within and between bilingual/monolingual IQ\u27s and verbal and nonverbal memories. Overall this study has shown that bilinguals do not appear to have a significant difference between their VIQ/PIQ splits. The bilingual brain does not appear to have significant changes in VIQ, immediate, or delayed verbal memory. More significant improvements are seen within the monolingual brain. The greatest recovery for both bilinguals and monolinguals appears to occur over time with immediate and delayed nonverbal memory