Social Functioning and Autistic Behaviors in Youth Following Acquired Brain Injury

Rachel K Greene; Natalia Rich-Wimmer; Cydni N Williams; Trevor A Hall

doi:10.3390/children9111648

Social Functioning and Autistic Behaviors in Youth Following Acquired Brain Injury

Children (Basel). 2022 Oct 28;9(11):1648. doi: 10.3390/children9111648.

Authors

Rachel K Greene¹, Natalia Rich-Wimmer¹, Cydni N Williams^{2

3}, Trevor A Hall^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Psychology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
³ Pediatric Critical Care and Neurotrauma Recovery Program, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.

Abstract

Children and adolescents who survive the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with an acquired brain injury (ABI) often demonstrate a variety of physical, cognitive, emotional/behavioral, and social sequelae termed post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). Social communication and interaction challenges have also been observed clinically, and there is growing literature documenting these occurrences in youth following ABI. The extent of these social changes varies among patients, and a subset of patients go on to exhibit social and behavioral profiles closely resembling those of autistic youth. We reviewed empirical research regarding social functioning in youth following ABI, as well as the overlap between individuals with ABI and autistic youth, published from January 2009 to August 2022 on PubMed and Scopus databases. Clinical case examples from a well-established post-PICU follow-up program are also provided to exemplify the complexity of this phenomenon.

Keywords: acquired brain injury; autism; pediatric; social functioning.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding