Verbal and academic skills in children with type 1 diabetes

Hannonen, Riitta Verbal and Academic Skills in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Jyvaskyla: University of Jyvaskyla, 2011, 49 p. (Jyvaskyla Studies in Education, Psychology and Social Research ISSN 0075-4625; 420) ISBN 978-951-39-4455-1 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-4456-8 (PDF) Yhteenveto: Tyypin 1 diabetesta sairastavien lasten kielelliset ja oppimiseen liittyvat perustaidot Diss. This thesis aimed at assessing cognitive and early academic skills in children with type 1 diabetes. More specifically, the purpose was to describe the academic skills most likely to be adversely affected in children with diabetes and neurocognitive processes and disease-related mechanisms underlying these possible learning problems. An additional aim of the thesis was to combine a developmental neurocognitive theory of reading acquisition with recent developmental models of diabetes-related effects on the brain. The findings were based on neurocognitive assessments conducted in three cross-sectional studies using two samples of children with type 1 diabetes and healthy control groups. The findings indicated that the development of early academic skills can be affected in some children with type 1 diabetes. Children with early-onset diabetes had a threefold incidence of spelling problems compared to healthy children, and their performance in mathematics was also poorer than that of the control group. Problems in phonological processing were associated with the poorer development of early academic skills in children with early-onset diabetes or a history of severe hypoglycemia. In children with early-onset diabetes, poor glycemic control in the first year of diabetes was associated with poorer spelling accuracy at school age. The findings suggest that the age at diagnosis and metabolic balance during the child’s development might affect the neurocognitive outcome. The integration of developmental neurocognitive theories and models of diabetes-related effects on cognition could lead to better understanding of developmental pathways in children with type 1 diabetes. This could improve the identification of children at risk for learning difficulties and possibilities of early intervention.